The Secret Lives of Boys
by Pennilyn Novus
Summary: In dark, uncertain times, the Marauders go on as normal: transformations, pranks and mischief. After their fifth year at Hogwarts, the boys experience a summer of growth, drama, and laughter. Who knows what happens in the secret lives of boys? COMPLETE
1. Chapter One

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Gryffindors Pennilyn Novus and Falconswing were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter One**

Somewhere in Scotland, at a place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, on a bright sunny day in June, a group of students gathered down by the lake, watching with rapt attention as James Potter, with his best friend Sirius Black, lifted Severus Snape upside down and left him dangling in the air with his underpants showing.

Lily Evans, a kind-hearted girl who was in the same house and year as James and Sirius, tried to defend Snape, but was rebuked by the embarrassed boy. She told off James, who had been trying unsuccessfully for years to get her to agree to go out on a date with him, then turned and marched away.

"_Evans!" James shouted after her. "Hey, EVANS!"_

_But she didn't look back._

"_What is it with her?" said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him._

"_Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius._

"_Right," said James, who looked furious now, "right –"_

_There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside down in the air._

"_Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" _

Sirius smirked fiendishly. "I do," he said, twirling his wand in his fingers.

Snape began to curse violently, struggling with his robes in an attempt to cover himself.

"JAMES POTTER!"

"Damn," James muttered, dropping Snape once more on his head.

Professor McGonagall marched across the grounds, her dark eyes flashing. "I have never…so ashamed…member of my own house!" she hissed brokenly, helping Snape to his feet and handing him his wand. "I have half a mind to have you expelled now!"

Snape pointed at Sirius. "Black was involved, as well," he seethed, brushing his greasy hair out of his eyes.

"I might have known," McGonagall ground out between clenched teeth. "All three of you, come with me. Now! The Headmaster shall hear of this!"

Snape began to protest, but the furious witch silenced him with a glare. "Do not think I don't know where that gash came from on Mr. Potter's cheek, Mr. Snape."

James reached up and touched his cheek, feeling the sting as he touched the fresh wound. He dabbed at it with the sleeve of his robes and glared at Snape. Sectumsempra was a serious curse, a potentially deadly curse. He supposed he should be glad Snape had such poor aim.

"But they started it!" Snape told McGonagall earnestly.

"And they finished it, as well, it appears."

James would have smirked at Snape as he snapped his mouth shut and glared at the Gryffindor head, if it weren't for the fact that she was marching all three of them straight up to Dumbledore's office.

He glanced over his shoulder at Remus and Peter, who was looked like he was about to burst into tears. Remus still sat under the tree, but he'd given up any pretense of reading. He was watching them go, a slightly guilty look on his worn face. James attempted to smile cheerfully, as if this was no big deal, but he knew Dumbledore was growing increasingly intolerant of the Marauder's high-spirited pranks, and their lack of civility with Snape.

Sirius nudged him in the ribs, rolling his eyes in McGonagall's direction as she marched them into the castle and across the Entrance Hall to the stairs leading up. James shook his head slightly, not sure what Sirius had in mind but wisely choosing not to find out.

The closer they grew to the gargoyle that hid the entrance to the headmaster's office, however, the more tense Sirius looked, and James was willing to bet the entire contents of his vault that his friend was thinking about how his mother would react when yet another disciplinary notice was sent home.

And indeed, that what was Sirius was thinking. He certainly was not looking forward to the Howler he was sure to receive, but for the chance to show Snape's grimy gray underpants, it was well worth it.

Together they ascended the spinning spiral staircase, and Sirius swallowed heavily when McGonagall pushed open the door, revealing Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, his blue eyes stern and not twinkling at all.

* * *

"Detentions, for the rest of the term," Sirius laughed, relieved, as he and James made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. "That's not so bad." 

James said nothing until they were nearly at the portrait of the Fat Lady, behind which laid their common room. "She hates me," he said at last.

Sirius, not needing to ask who 'she' was, responded, "She doesn't hate you, mate. She almost smiled today when you had Snivellus arse over elbows."

"She did?" James asked incredulously, his face lighting up. "Well, that's not so bad, then, is it?"

"Nope," Sirius answered, clapping his hand on James's shoulder. "Makes those detentions even more worth it, yeah?"

James grinned. "It was priceless to see Snivellus flailing around up there in his dirty pants!"

"Yeah it was."

They climbed through the portrait hole, grinning at the hero's welcome they received when they came into view. Sirius looked around, and spotted Remus standing at the back of the cheering crowd with Peter, and not far from them, Lily stood, her mouth bent in disapproval. Sirius glanced at James who was laughing gleefully as their housemates congratulated them on an excellent victory.

Eventually, Remus made his way over to them. "Not expelled, then?" he asked lowly.

"Detentions the rest of the term," James answered, looking almost cheerful at the prospect of it. "Starting tomorrow night."

* * *

Their classmates eventually returned to their studies, and the four boys retreated to their dorm room to do the same. Though Sirius and James were still on the high from their excellent prank on Snape, they had one more OWL to take, first thing the next day after breakfast. They couldn't help but rehash the expression on Snape's face as he kicked helplessly, trying to cover his lower half uselessly. By the end of the night, James was almost glad that he would end up with a small scar on his cheek from Snape's spell, referring to it as his battle scar, or his wound of honor. 

Peter approved heartily, but Remus just rolled his eyes.

The next morning, at breakfast, low hisses could be heard from the Slytherin table as the Marauders headed for their table. While Snape was not particularly popular among the Slytherins either, there was still the matter of house pride. Snape, for his part, glowered darkly at James and Sirius, and could be heard muttering about the injustice of having to serve detention along side them.

James looked wryly at Sirius, seeing the wheels spinning deviously in his friend's head. He could just bet Sirius would make Snape's detentions as miserable as possible. He supposed he would find out that night.

* * *

Full of butterbeer, giddy that their OWLS were at last finished, and full of plans for their detention with Snape, James and Sirius made their way down to the Entrance Hall shortly before midnight. Filch and McGonagall were already present, and she sent them a disapproving glare. James swallowed his smile hastily. 

Snape slunk out of the shadows at one minute until midnight, his appearance interrupting Filch, who was muttering that Dumbledore was far too lenient on misbehaving students, and that he longed for the days when disobedient pupils were flogged in the lower dungeons.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Snape," McGonagall said with a sniff, "you will serve your first detention with Mr. Filch, who has informed me that the girls' bathroom on the second floor has flooded and needs a thorough cleaning."

James felt his polite smile freeze on his face. He heard Sirius groan beside him, and even Snape looked put out. The girls' bathroom on the second floor was home to Moaning Myrtle, the most annoying ghost in Hogwarts, quite possibly the most annoying ghost in the entire wizarding world.

Filch's face twisted into a semblance of a smile, and he ushered the boys up the stairs for what James now realized was going to be a very long, miserable detention.

* * *

Four hours…four hours later, two very tired and rather exhausted fifth years blearily stumbled their way into the Gryffindor Common room. They almost blindly felt their way up well worn steps into the fifth-year boy's dorm and stumbled into their respective beds. 

The only reason they'd been allowed to even get out at four in the morning was that Mrs. Norris had (somehow) informed Filch that someone was making trouble on the fourth floor, so, with no one awake to supervise the drowsy miscreants, he was forced to send them to bed.

A pair of amber eyes blinked awake at the sound of their feet. Remus was awake. He stared at the two for a moment in confusion before realization made his eyes widen. He sat up, suddenly more awake, with a grin on his face.

"Four o'clock? Must be a new record," he quietly said. James and Sirius jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice and turned to stare at him uncomprehendingly.

Remus simply raised an eyebrow. "Four in the morning? After detention...with Snape? You honestly can't expect me to believe that you didn't pull a single prank for all of this time, can you?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Oh."

"Quite so, Moony," James mumbled. "Now, if you don't mind, Padfoot and I have been scrubbing Moaning Myrtle's loo for four hours with that slimy snake for company, so we're just going to sleep. Alright with you?" he asked grumpily.

"Indeed," Remus replied. "Well...goodnight then."

And with that, the three Mauraders went to sleep.

The next day was much of the same: Wake up late, rush and almost miss breakfast, laze about all day pulling the occasional prank, mostly on Snivellus, and detentions at midnight.

The detentions were growing steadily more tedious. First Myrtle's bathroom, then there was scrubbing every cauldron Slughorn had used for the entire day (without magic), then there was helping McGonagall grade essays. They dared not mess up with those for if they did, she promised to take away all the points Gryffindor had. Dangerous. They didn't know how much longer they could deal with her growing strictness.

"She needs something to laugh about," James decided on the fourth day after their detention string began. "Something...big."

The Marauders glanced at each other, grinned, and put their heads together to plan...

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** The italicized section of this story is taken from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling.


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Notes:** This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest. In this chapter, Gryffindors Captain J. Black and Tiffany were the authors. 

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Two**  
  
It was noon, and James and Sirius still had not woken up; after all, they'd only gone to bed at six. Remus and Peter were playing a game of chess on Remus's bed when a soft knock came at the door. 

"Come in," invited Peter. The door opened to reveal a determined looking Lily Evans.

"Lily? Can I help you?" asked Remus, getting up from his game and walking over towards her. "Cheat, and die, Rat," he said jokingly to Peter, who gave a nervous laugh.

"McGonagall asked me to bring these detention slips to Potter and Black," Lily answered, holding up two small slips of parchment. Remus sighed, shaking his head, and took the slips of parchment.

"This is ridiculous," he said in a low voice. "They leave for detention at midnight and come back at some obscene hour, anywhere from three to six in the morning depending on who they're serving their detentions with."

"Well, for that little stunt they pulled on Snape, they deserve it," Lily said through clenched teeth.

"Give it a rest, Lils," pleaded Remus. "It's bad enough I hear you complain about it during our shifts—"

He was cut off by a sleepy Sirius, who rolled over and asked them to be quiet.

"You should leave now, Lily. James will be up in a bit and you don't want to be here when that happens, now do you?" Peter piped up from Remus's bed. Lily's eyes widened and she turned and left. It was a good thing for her that she did leave, because James rolled over as soon as she had walked out the door.

"Why does it smell like cinnamon?" he asked groggily. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, then looked over at Sirius's bed and grinned mischievously. The next thing the sleeping Sirius knew, he was being pummeled by a charmed pillow.

Sirius gave a sleepy yowl, then rolled over on his stomach and attempted to go back to bed. Remus, however, had other ideas. He flicked his wand at Sirius's bed, which flung Sirius into the air and across the room.

"What was that for?!" Sirius yelled, now wide awake.

"For getting you up and awake," laughed Remus.

"What for?" Sirius whined

"Food. Lunch ends in a half hour," Peter answered for Remus. That had the desired effect; both James and Sirius shot up and ran to the bathroom to get ready.

Ten minutes later, the four marauders were walking into the Great Hall, earning admiring looks from the female population of Hogwarts. The boys sat down and started to pile food onto their plates. Sirius piled so much food on to his plate he could feed an entire army, and Peter was more than happy to point that out to him. Peter got an eye full of potato salad for that one.

"So, I have been thinking about what we can do to make McGonagall smile," whispered Remus to the other boys. "We could do the Midas Touch thing."

"The what?" asked a bemused James and Sirius.

"You know, that story where everything that King Midas touched turned to gold," Remus answered. The boys shook their heads which caused Remus to roll his eyes.

"Do you want to explain the idea?" Sirius asked, his mouth full of food.

"Well, I was thinking about how the last Quidditch game is in a few days, and it's Slytherin against Gryffindor. Why don't we charm the Slytherins so that everything they touch that day turns to Gryffindor colors?" Remus said.

"How would we manage that one?" asked James with a raised brow.

"We could charm their table," Peter suggested.

"That's what I was thinking," stated Remus. "All we would have to do is charm the table so that whoever sits down will get charmed, and then as soon as they get up and walk away they start turning everything to Gryffindor," he finished excitedly.

"That's brilliant!" Sirius said. "Do you think we can get them to sing a Gryffindor Cheer as well? Like every word they say is part of a song and when it's said together it ends up being a Gryffindor cheer!"

"That would be fantastic!" James said, elated.

"So when should we put our plan into motion?" Remus asked.

"The day before the game, which is in two days," James answered.

"Great! Let's start looking stuff up then," Remus said.

"Right, James and I will meet you two in the dorm," Sirius said.

"I will send Peter up with your books," replied Remus. "You will do the charm for the song and Peter and I will do the color charm and figure out how to charm the table so that the charms won't take affect until after they leave," Remus laughed.

"I guess that it actually was a good thing the game kept on getting postponed," said James. The others nodded in agreement. They quickly finished their lunches and headed off to their duties.

"I guess that it was an even better thing that the Slytherin players kept getting sick mysteriously," Sirius whispered to James on their way back up to the dorm.

"Yeah," laughed James, smirking mischieviously.

* * *

The prank went off without a hitch, but McGonagall certainly did not smile. She took points away from the boys, and scolded and yelled at them for a full hour. The boys went back to their rooms to sulk and pack, but mostly to sulk.

What the boys didn't know, however, was that the entire staff, perhaps except Filch, had found their prank to be amusing. Even McGonagall had given a very tiny smile, though she had only done so very reluctantly, and after the Headmaster had started laughing about the prank. But it was still a smile.

* * *

The Leaving Feast was the same a usual; the four boys had very nearly cost Gryffindor the House Cup because of the points they had lost, but Gryffindor still won by a narrow victory over the Slytherins. They'd also won the Quidditch Cup at the game, as they normally did. Everyone in Gryffindor house was elated, especially the Marauders; of course, they always were.

That night, before they went to bed, they discussed their summer plans. So far, it had been decided that the boys would go to Derbyshire during the full moons to be with Remus, and they would go to Godric's Hollow for the Summer Solstice Ball that the Potter family had every year. This would be the first time the boys would be allowed to attend the gala, and they were quite excited.

* * *

"Come on, Sirius!" shouted James from the front lawn of the castle. 

Every student was heading home for the summer holiday, and the carriages to the train were getting ready to leave at any moment.

Sirius was doing some last minute packing, and had just shoved his last pair of trousers into his trunk when he heard the magnified voice of McGonagall warning students that the carriages would be departing momentarily. In the distance, he heard the horn of the train toot its warning bell.

"Argh!" he screamed, before shutting the trunk, running down the stairs, and hurrying out of Hogwarts.

"Over here!" shouted James.

Sirius caught sight of his friend waving his arms at him from the last carriage, which was slowly beginning to roll down the drive, and he smiled with relief, before running towards the horseless carriage.

All of a sudden, the carriage put on a burst of speed and took off down the drive at a quick pace.

Sirius's mouth dropped in surprise.

"No!" he cried, as he ran alongside the carriage, struggling to toss his trunk into it, before grabbing hold of his friends' outstretched hands and swinging himself into the carriage.

Safely inside, Sirius let out a sigh of relief. "That was close," he muttered.

Peter nodded. "One more second and you would have been left behind! Who knows what would have happened?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh, stop it."

The ride to Hogsmeade station was short, and before he knew it, he was settled into their usual compartment on the train, and he and James quickly began to flip through the latest Quidditch magazine, looking at the new brooms.

After the finished salivating over the latest model Shooting Star, Sirius looked up and noticed they were a marauder shy. "Where's Remus?" he asked, taking a look around the compartment.

James spoke up from where he sat. "He's with Lily, and they're discussing something about Prefects duty with Professor McGonagall," he said darkly.

Sirius grinned. "But the school year's over."

James shrugged. "It's not fair that Lily likes Remus so much, but she won't even give me the time of day."

Peter spoke up. " Perhaps if you were nicer to her..." he said, trailing off.

James glared at Peter and was about to tell him off when the door to the compartment suddenly slid open, and Lily and Remus both walked in.

James opened and closed his mouth before deciding not to say anything.

"What did you guys talk about?" asked Sirius.

"Professor McGonagall just wanted to go over some stuff before next year. Dumbledore told her that he predicted that things might happen, and she wanted all the Prefects to know what they're getting into," said Remus.

Lily nodded. "I guess I'll see you next year," she said, giving Remus a quick hug.

She stepped away from him, gave the compartment one fleeting glance, before walking out to join her own friends.

Sirius hooted. "Bet you wished you were Remus, huh?" he asked James.

James gave Sirius a scowl. "Oh, shut up."

Remus took a seat next to Peter and said, "I think I'm going to take a nap."

After saying that, things were pretty quiet until they reached Muggle London.

* * *

"Okay, so we have to meet over the summer," said James. 

"So let's owl one another regularly. Besides, we need to be with Remus when full moon comes," said Sirius, nodding at the other three boys.

"Not to mention, we need to plan who we're going to take to the Solstice Ball, and whatnot," James said.

"How about we owl each other once a week, if not more?" suggested Peter.

The four nodded.

"Okay, see you soon!" said Remus.

The four gave each other hugs before walking off into separate directions.


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Gryffindors princeofalmora and xmarauderxforeverx were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Three:**

James was back at home. His mum and dad had outdone themselves in welcoming him - welcoming him back so magnificently, that the usual superb welcome seemed substandard. However, in spite of that welcome, they seemed to fail to realize that James quickly grew bored without his constant companions.

So one day, James decided to entertain himself. He couldn't visit Sirius, Remus or Peter - he was to visit them in a few days, it was all planned. They had been corresponding too, and they were all rather busy. Anyway, it would be embarrassing to show his face without a story of a prank to share with them. He had half a mind to visit Snape and prank him, but then he had a better idea: He went to visit Evans. Lily Evans.

He decided to Apparate - in spite of the fact that he didn't have his license yet - because he couldn't use a broom as he'd be seen by the Muggles, and he couldn't use floo powder as Muggle houses weren't connected to the Floo network. Not that James really cared about rules. Nor did the Ministry care much these day about him breaking those insignificant rules, not with Lord Voldemort on the loose. Anyway, he knew how to Apparate and that was what mattered the most.

He Apparated right outside her house, looking around quickly to make sure no Muggles had seen him. Perhaps arriving in the front garden hadn't been the wisest choice, but it would have been rude to pop directly into the house.

James was about to knock on the door when he heard someone talking behind him. He turned around to see the speaker coming up the front walk with another girl. The girl who was talking was blonde, tall and thin, with a long neck and horsey face. She didn't notice him on the front stoop and went on talking to her friend:

"Yes, Yvonne, I'm going on a blind date with a man named Vernon. He's coming today, so I'll see him for the first time," she chirped, "And I've told Lily to stay out."

"You told me that! I always wonder why she bothers you Petunia," said Yvonne. "She seems nice enough to me, but I guess she must be mean."

"Oh, she is," Petunia agreed quickly. "But she's more than that, too."

"Oh my poor dear," said Yvonne. "You know my younger brother... well, basically he's an annoying little monkey. He bugs me a lot."

"I completely understand," Petunia said, nodding her horsey face.

James, who quickly grew bored with this melodrama (and annoyed that Petunia had spoken ill of Lily), decided to have a little fun at Petunia's expense. Suddenly, her handbag erupted in flames and her friend's shirt caught fire. Yvonne started shouting curses and running all over the place, followed by Petunia, who was waving her flaming purse and shouting, "Stand still! Let me put the fire out for you!"

All the commotion made quite a bit of noise, and a window opened on the first floor, above the stoop. Lily poked her head out the window, and she quickly saw the drama. She burst out laughing. James laughed too, revealing himself to her in the process. A frown creased her forehead as she looked down at him, but before she could say something, James said, "Don't you dare say that you didn't like it; your laugh said it all."

"I wasn't going to say that," defended Lily. "I just wondered what you're doing here."

"Just passing by. Thought maybe you wouldn't mind a visitor," said James, trying the old charm.

Lily smiled. "I don't mind - but Petunia might."

"Oh! Don't worry about her, leave her to me. By the way, Evans, where are your manners? Aren't you going to ask me in?"

"Sure, just a moment," Lily said. "I'll come down and let you in." Her head disappeared from the window, and James went to the door impatiently, feeling bolstered by her smile. He stood in front of the door and waited. But just then, Petunia came back up the walk, slightly sooty, and spotted James.

"Who are you?" she growled, looking very hostile.

"Ja - um, didn't you recognize me, Petunia? I'm Vernon, your date."

"Vernon - Vernon Dursley, wow, you really are handsome! How did you know who I am, though?" Petunia chirped, brushing some sweaty, ashy hair off her face.

"Simple," said James cursing himself to slip the name in the sentence, "It's you eyes, they told me. Truly, you've got the most beautiful eyes, most expressive," he added, using the old Potter charm.

Petunia blushed, her horsey face becoming a light pink. It appeared she completely believed that he was who he said he was. Just then, Lily opened the door, brushing hair out of her face and smiling welcomingly to James.

Her mouth fell open in surprise then, when James said, "How do you do? I'm Vernon Dursley."

* * *

Remus stretched out on his bed, spreading his arms wide over every available inch of space. Although he loved Hogwarts, it had to be said, there truly was no place like home. He'd been home a week now, spending time with his father on his fishing boat, and waiting impatiently for his mother to get home from her business trip. He and his father had just gotten back from another full day of fishing in the sunshine, and Remus was hungry and knackered.

Smiling, Remus turned over to inhale the sweet, heavy scent of the colourful patchwork quilt covering the small bed. It smelled like childhood and innocence, but most importantly, it smelled like home. Abandoning that thought, Remus sniffed the air, sensing a familiar scent in the air. Sitting up with a smile, he recognized the delicious aroma of his mother's cooking. Remus crept down the stairs quietly, intending to shock his mother who must have gotten back while he and his father were still out.

He snuck up on her quietly, but just as he was ready to pounce, his mother turned around, a wide smile on her face.

"REMUS!" she exclaimed, capturing Remus in a strong embrace, "It's so good to see you!" With a smile, she gently pushed him into one of the simple wooden chairs around the kitchen table. "How was Hogwarts?" she questioned, returning to stirring the pot of soup.

"It was fine, Mum," he assured her, grinning. Although Remus was significantly taller than his mother (and had been for quite some time), she had always had the ability to make him feel as though he were five again; reprimanded for misbehavior and rewarded for good deeds. "The OWLs went well."

Remus' mother grinned, showing off a mouthful of brilliant white teeth. "That's wonderful. And how are your friends?" His mother never failed to ask after his group of companions. She held them all in high regard for embracing Remus and his lycanthropy so wholeheartedly.

"They're all good. Sirius and James got into a spot of trouble at the end of term, but what else is new?"

His mother smiled warmly, and ladled the soup into a bowl, which she placed in front of Remus. "They're good boys," she said forgivingly. "A little high-spirited, is all."

Remus grinned to himself before he began to eat his soup. A little high-spirited indeed. Savoring the moment, Remus wondered vaguely what his fellow marauders were up to.

* * *

Lily simply stood in the doorway, a look of utter confusion on her face as she stared at James and Petunia.

"But..." she began, her voice fading before a slightly wicked grin appeared almost magically on her face. "Come on in, Vernon," she greeted, stepping aside to allow him inside.

"Would you like to sit down for a minute?" Petunia questioned, fixing her thin lips in what she obviously believed to be an attractive pout. James smiled, amping up his charm.

"Of course I would, Petty," he smiled, holding back the laughter bubbling inside him. If only Sirius were here to see this.

Petunia laced her fingers through James' hand, much to his disgust, and led him into a well-decorated sitting room. Petunia sat down stiffly on the couch and patted the cushion next to her. James looked at the cushion, and then looked up to see Lily following them with a look of amusement on her face. He shot her a slightly panicked look before sitting himself down on the floral couch beside Petunia.

Sitting herself in an armchair opposite of them, Lily ignored Petunia's pointed looks. It was only a matter of time until the real Vernon got there. Until then, she had every intention of enjoying the moment.

"Lily, dearest," Lily's mother interrupted, poking her head out the kitchen doorway. "Would you mind going out to get some beans? Your father seems to have forgotten them," she finished, smiling apologetically.

Slightly saddened that she wouldn't get to see the look of anger on Petunia's face when she realized James wasn't really Vernon, Lily slowly got out of her chair. James shot her another panicked look, but there was nothing for it. He'd gotten himself into the mess, and she decided she'd let him get himself back out. She walked over to the door slowly, listening to Petunia start to chatter nervously to James. Rolling her eyes slightly, Lily opened the door to reveal a burly man in a cheap-looking tux.

"You must be Petunia," he greeted, shoving a bouquet of flowers roughly into her hands. "You're even prettier than I imagined."

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Well what do you think so far? Give us some review love! 


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Four**

"Er," Lily stuttered, glancing down at the slightly wilted daisies. "Thank you?"

"Did you do something to your hair? My mate said you had blonde hair." Vernon shook his head, apparently willing to overlook that discrepancy. As he shook his head, his second and third chin jiggled, and the collar of his second-hand tux strained under the pressure. "Oh well, red is nice too," he said, grabbing her free hand.

"Um, thanks," Lily said, unable to contain all the sarcasm in her voice.

"You ready to go, then?" Vernon asked, tugging on her hand slightly. "You're not really dressed for the opera, are you?"

"Lily?" She heard her mother call from the kitchen. "Have you left yet? Oh, good, you're still here," she exclaimed, sounding as though she were coming across the sitting room. "I forgot to ask you…." she trailed off, and Lily turned to look at her mother.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were going to have a guest, as well. Who's this?" her mother said, a tight smile on her face as her eyes roved over the large man's tight tuxedo.

Vernon stuck out his chest, and attempted to suck in his stomach. "Vernon Dursley, Mrs. Evans," he said proudly. "Petunia, why is she calling you Lily?"

Lily closed her eyes, knowing it was only a matter of moments until the screaming started.

"Oh," said her mother, sounding confused. "You're Vernon? This isn't Petunia, this is Lily. Petunia is in the sitting room – well, I thought with you, but – "

Lily heard the short gasp of surprise from Petunia. "But…" Petunia yelped, and unable to help herself, Lily turned to look at her sister, who was glancing between the man at the door and James, who was grinning for all he was worth. If she hadn't known that at any moment, Petunia was about to find out she'd been holding hands with one of 'those people', as she called them, and start screaming her bloody head off, Lily might have found the entire situation as amusing as she had a few moments ago.

"This is Vernon, mum, I don't know who that is at the door," Petunia said weakly, looking at James as he smiled at her winningly.

"Now wait just a minute," Vernon said, going red in the face. "I _am_ Vernon Dursley." He dug into his enormous trousers, and produced a battered leather wallet, and a moment later, his identification. "See?" he said, shoving the plastic card in Lily's face. Without waiting for invitation, he shouldered his way through the door, knocking Lily to the side.

"But…but…" Petunia sputtered, looking slightly ill, her sweaty, sooty hair still plastered across her forehead. "If you're not Vernon, who are you?" she asked James, letting go of his hand and scooting away from him on the sofa.

James looked at Lily, obviously pleased with himself for the situation he'd caused. Lily frowned back at him, wishing he wasn't about to see the impending scene. He looked back at Petunia, and Lily knew it was about to happen, and she wanted to protest; she wanted to tell him not to tell Petunia who he was, _what_ he was, but her mouth had gone dry and she found herself unable to speak.

"James Potter," he said jovially, extending his hand. Petunia flinched back, looking at him with obvious distrust. Lily prayed that maybe James wouldn't say it, say who else he was, but then James opened his mouth and Lily could only watch.

"I'm one of Lily's friends. We go to school together."

And with those magic words, the house exploded in chaos.

* * *

Sirius stormed into his bedroom at the top of number twelve Grimmauld Place, and slammed the door shut behind him. His mother's strident tones carried up the stairs as she ranted on about what a disappointment of a son he was, a good-for-nothing Gryffindor who'd shamed his whole family yet again for getting into trouble with his good-for-nothing friend James Potter.

It had been like this for the entire week, since he'd arrived home from King's Cross station. Every day was the same. The mornings were quiet and peaceful, as his mother took her breakfast and mid-day meal in her private sitting room, refusing to see visitors, but then in the mid-afternoon, a steady stream of visitors would arrive, and she would emerge, looking stern and forbidding as she rushed through the house like a cloud of destruction. Mrs. Black was a gracious, if overbearing, hostess, but thankfully for her sake, everyone she entertained held the same beliefs that she did, which made for a rather unpleasant afternoon of listening to the same pureblood rhetoric over and over again.

Sirius always tried to avoid these bull sessions, but inevitably would be summoned by his mother to speak to the guests, which he always did as politely as he could muster, in spite of their obvious disapproval. After the guests left, he was heartily berated for being a disgrace to the family, unable to even behave in front of the guests.

Which led to him storming up the stairs after a few minutes of trying to ignore the continual attack on his friends, the people he cared about, and the things he believed in.

Sirius flopped down on his bed, giving a frustrated growl. He retreated to his Animagus form, the trusty black Padfoot, who cared more about the scents in the air, and the comfort of the bed, than what his mother thought of him. He curled upon himself, burrowing his nose under his front paws, and thought of his friends. He wondered what they were up to.

* * *

Petunia jumped up and away from James so quickly that she nearly tumbled over the low table in front of the sofa. "You're one of _those_ _people_!" she spat as she struggled to keep her balance.

Hoping to keep her from going all the way over, James lurched forward to right her, but she shrieked and toppled backwards over the table, her skirt hitching up and one shoe flying across the room, nearly hitting the real Vernon Dursley, who stood there looking like an over-ripe tomato, red and ready to explode.

"Get away from me, you freak!" Petunia screamed, kicking at him as he leaned over the table and offered her his hand. Gasping out a laugh, James glanced over at the trio by the door, thinking one of them would also find this humorous. He was mistaken.

Vernon started forward, ready to defend his date from whatever threat he thought James posed. Mrs. Evans sighed, her shoulders slumping, and Lily shrank back behind her mother, her brilliant green eyes shifting first from hurt to embarrassment, and finally settling on a dull sort of non-emotion.

"Freak?" James asked, still somewhat amused by the situation.

"You – freak!" Petunia scathed again, scrambled back and turned to glare at Lily. "You invited one of your freak friends over here to make fun of me, did you?" she snapped. "Think you're so special, do you, you bloody buggering witch?"

James stopped smiling. He'd never heard anyone say the word 'witch' in such a way that turned it into a pointed, dangerous weapon. Lily's cheeks flushed, and she refused to look up from the floor. After a moment though, she lifted her head, her eyes flashing, and she said in a deadly cool voice, "Don't call him a freak."

Petunia jumped to her feet, glaring daggers first at James, making a great show of wiping the hand James had held off on her skirt. "I'll call him whatever I want," she spat, her thin face twisted in plain hatred. Then she whirled on Lily, looking furious. "And you're the ones who caught Yvonne's shirt on fire and blew up my handbag, weren't you? Just because you can? Well, let me tell you something, Lily Evans. You may think you're special, but you're nothing, you're filth. You and your little boyfriend here," Petunia sneered, "you're just freaks of nature."

"Leave him out of it," Lily said in the same cold tone, her hair blowing slightly in a wind that was gathering in the room.

"Girls," Mrs. Evans said suddenly, but it was clear that neither sister intended to pay any attention to her. But James realized that Lily was likely getting riled enough for some accidental magic. Stepping forward and between the sisters, he grabbed Lily's arm and began to pull her towards the door, just as Vernon took hold of Petunia and held her back.

Just before he got Lily out the front door, her famous temper exploded, and the room shook as she shouted, "I may be a freak, Petunia, but at least I'm not some wishy-washy little gossipy nothing jealous because I can't even _be_ a freak!"

And with that parting comment, she allowed James to wrestle her out of the house, onto the stoop.

Lily stood there a moment, panting angrily, and then as her breathing slowed, she looked up at James, mortification written all over her flushed face.

"Is she always like that?" James asked quietly.

"Worse, usually," Lily answered ruefully, looking down again.

They stood in silence for a long moment, with Lily staring at her feet, and then James put a hand on her shoulder. "You're not a freak, you know. You're lucky; you've been given a gift that mule in there will never be able to understand."

"I know," Lily said, sounding muffled. "I just wish you hadn't seen that."

And then the shock of understanding lit up James's world like the sun. Lily Evans cared what he thought.


	5. Chapter Five

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Captain J. Black was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Five**

James left Lily's house on a high note. As soon as he got home, he wrote down his adventure to the Evans home on three bits of parchment and sent his story to the rest of the Marauders. He got letters back within an hour, all of which were congratulatory and disbelieving. His joy only lasted for a little while after he got those letters, though, because his parents came home.

"James Potter! You get down here _right_ _now_!" his mother called grimly from the bottom of the stairs.

James blanched because he honestly hadn't the slightest clue as to what he had done wrong. He went down the stairs slowly and cautiously. Both of his parents were waiting in the sitting room.

"Yeah, mum?" he asked hesitantly

"What is the meaning of this?" asked his father, holding up an envelope from the Ministry.

"I don't know," answered James truthfully

"Shall I read it then?" asked his father, motioning for James to have a seat.

"'_Dear Mr. Potter, it has come to the attention of the Ministry that you have performed an underage Apparation to the village of Kent at four fifteen this afternoon. You were seen by a Muggle. Therefore, you are being sent a warning. Should this occur again, you will be expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Wishing you well, Jamie Remington.'" _

His father dropped his hand holding the note onto his lap and pinched his nose for a moment, obviously trying to disguise his disappointment, and failing. "Now tell me, James: what in that teenaged mind of yours made you think it would be alright for you to Apparate to Kent?" asked his father in his quiet, saddened way.

And once again, James wished that his father would just get mad at him, instead of looking at him with that sorrowful look on his face. He couldn't bear to raise his eyes to his father's face, knowing that once again, he'd disappointed the man.

* * *

Sirius had laughed so hard when he had read James' letter. He was amazed that James had had the nerve to go to Lily's house, but he was even more astonished that Lily hadn't burst a blood vessel trying to yell some sense into James.

Unfortunately, his mother heard his joyful laughter and decided that it was time to start yelling at him again. Her rant started out as usual, and then it escalated in a big way.

"You are a no good, filthy, blood traitor loving, worthless piece of trash!" she screamed at him. "I wish that Reggie had been born first and that we would have just stopped there! You are no good to us!"

"Why don't you just shut your mouth, Mother!" Sirius yelled back with contempt, fed up with her abuse. "I'm not the worthless one in this family, you are! You were never a good mother. Mrs. Potter, a woman I have only seen and talked to at the train station, is a better mother than you are!" yelled Sirius. His mother gasped, then glared daggers at him.

"How dare you compare ME to that Filthy Blood Traitor of a whore!" his mother yelled.

"Don't you ever call Mrs. Potter that again! She's worth ten of you!" yelled Sirius, pulling out his wand.

"What are you going to do, boy? Curse your dear old mum?" said his father, appearing in the doorway. Sirius just glared at him. "Can't have that now, can we?" said his father.

Sirius's father quickly disarmed him, and he watched in dismay as his wand shot from his hand, and into his father's grasp. Before he knew what was happening, his mother hissed, _"__Crucio!"_ The whole world dissolved into a red haze of pain.

Sirius's screams filled the air on and off for the next three hours. During those three hours, he was placed repeatedly under the Cruciatus Curse, as well as a vast amount of other horrible curses and hexes that cut his body and broke his left arm, all the while leaving trails of bruises all over his body. His parents left him bloodied and bruised on his dusty floor when they were done 'punishing' him.

Just relieved that it was over and he was still alive, Sirius let himself slip into the welcome respite of unconsciousness. Three hours later, just a little past two in the morning, he awoke. His whole body ached, and there was dried blood caked all over his skin. Even though Sirius could barely move, he worked his way to his wand, which his father had placed on the desk next to the door. Sirius grabbed his wand and flicked it so his trunk flew to his bed. With another pained flick, he opened the lid. He flicked his wand once again, and all of his belongings started to gather themselves neatly in the trunk.

After what seemed like eternity to Sirius, he had all of his things packed. He grabbed his cloak and threw it on the best he could with his broken arm, and pulled up the hood so no one would be able to see his battered face. He flicked his wand one last time to shrink his trunk, which he placed in his pocket. After he had done that, he quietly went downstairs, out of the house, and down the street, where he hailed the Knight Bus.

Mere seconds later, the purple triple-decker bus arrived and Sirius climbed onboard.

"Godric's Hollow, please. Number Thirty-four Oak Lane," he grunted. Then he sat down on a swaying bed and waited for the bus to deliver him to James's home. He winced every time the bus went around a corner; he was in a disturbing amount of pain, what with a broken left arm and bruised everything else.

He knew, this time, his parents had gone several steps too far. He was absolutely gobsmacked that he had been tortured like that, and by his own flesh and blood. Certainly, he had been hexed before by his parents, but never like that. He guessed it was the combination of being cheeky to Mrs. Malfoy and then going upstairs to laugh himself silly at James's letter that had pushed his parents over the edge.

The massive purple bus came to a screeching halt in front of the Potter house. Sirius sat there for a moment, not sure he could even make it up the steps to the front door, and then slowly got up and limped his way off of the bus. Somehow, he made it up to the front door. He paused for a moment, swaying slightly, then rang the bell and waited for someone to open the door and let him in. He didn't have to wait very long because the door opened a crack almost at once.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked a defensive male voice from the other side of the door.

"My name is Sirius Black and didn't know where else to go," Sirius said weakly; he pulled down his hood, showing his battered face in the process.

"Sirius?" the man asked, sounding shocked and surprised. "Come inside," said the man, opening the door. Sirius walked inside and immediately collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.

* * *

James woke up and glanced at his clock. It was a little after three thirty in the morning. He thought he might have heard the doorbell, and he sat up in bed warily. Nighttime visitors were never good news. He heard his parents get up and go down the stairs, and then he heard his father talking to someone, but he couldn't hear the other person at all. Suddenly, he heard someone running up the stairs, and he grabbed his wand, shoving his glasses on with his other hand. His mum burst through his door, looking pale and disheveled in the dim moonlight shining through the window.

"James, it's Sirius!" she gasped at him. That was all that she had to say; James was up and running down the stairs.

What he saw when he made it to the sitting room made him want to be sick all over the floor. Sirius was lying on the sofa with dried blood all over his face, an arm that was clearly broken, bruises and cuts all over his exposed body, and his hair caked with dust and blood.

_"What happened to him?"_ James asked, bewildered.

"All we know is he rang the bell and told us he didn't know where else to go," his father explained.

"Can you fix that?" James asked pointing to his broken arm. Mr. Potter nodded and pointed his wand at the crooked arm, which glowed, shifted, and then looked right again.

"It's not broken anymore, but he will still have to take it easy for a few days," his father said quietly.

James sat down in the chair across from the sofa and watched his parents clean the blood off Sirius's face, and carefully heal his cuts and bruises.

"James, dear, go and get a pair of your pajamas, please," his mum told him. James was up, gone, and back in two minutes, holding pajamas for Sirius.

"Is he staying in my room or one of the guest rooms?" James asked

"One of the guest rooms, I think," answered his dad. James just nodded and watched as his dad Levitated the now clean and pajama-clad Sirius up to one of the guest rooms.

"Do you think I can stay in here too? You know, just until he wakes up?" James asked his dad as he followed him into the room.

"Yes, I think that's a good idea. Just don't wake him up, he definitely needs to rest," answered his father, and James nodded.

A few hours and several cups of tea later, James heard Sirius start to stir. James put down his most recent cup of tea and stood up. He walked over to the bed where Sirius was tossing and turning and mumbling in his sleep. Sirius was the closest thing he'd ever had to a brother, and James felt something angry stir inside of him as he thought of someone hurting him as they had. As he watched Sirius sleep, he started to notice that whatever it was that Sirius was dreaming of was getting progressively worse.

"Sirius, mate, wake up. It's just a dream," James said, gently shaking Sirius awake.

"James?" Sirius asked groggily "What are you doing here?" he asked. He glanced around the bedroom, and comprehension slowly dawned on his face.

"You alright, mate?" James asked him.

"I don't know, am I?" replied Sirius.

"You are as good as can be expected," answered James's father from the door. "I came to see if either of you would like a spot of breakfast. Carolyn has worked herself into a frenzy and has made enough food to feed the entire Auror department." His father chuckled. The two boys grinned at each other and made their way down stairs for breakfast.

James hoped that after breakfast, Sirius would be up to sharing what happened to him.


	6. Chapter Six

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Yellowwolf was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Six**

Breakfast passed with some happy chatter between the two friends and James's parents. The topic of what had happened to Sirius had been carefully avoided but Sirius could see the worry and anger in James's eyes. He knew it wouldn't be long before he was going to have to tell what happened to him. He couldn't_ not_ tell. Not after the Potters had taken care of him. He owed them that much. He realized James was going to go ballistic over this. James was like his brother and he knew James felt the same way about him.

He took a careful sip of his orange juice and looked at James as he was talking to his parents. Sirius had stopped following the conversation and was trying to get his thoughts straight about what he was going to say. As it was, he wasn't too clear about the details himself. One minute he was being tortured, the next he'd been packing his stuff. He couldn't be sure how long his parents had tortured him. It had seemed so long while it most likely only had been a couple of hours. A couple of hours too long, nonetheless. They'd gone too far this time. Anger briefly flared up before it was replaced with sadness and some desperation.

He snapped out of his thoughts when Carolyn started gathering the plates. Sirius took his and was about to stand up but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Carolyn smiled down warmly at him, her eyes clearly showing affection and caring. Two qualities his own mother didn't seem to possess. At least, not where he was concerned.

"You're our guest, Sirius. You don't have to do anything," she said in a warm voice.

"Thank you," Sirius said gratefully as he sank back down in his chair after rising only slightly. He could still feel some pain even though Mr. Potter had luckily taken away most of the physical pain. The emotional pain, however, could not be healed as easily. Sure, he hated his parents and knew they hated him, but somewhere he had always hoped to be accepted by them. Perhaps it was foolish to hope so, but they were still his parents, the people who were supposed to care for him and love him.

"Let's move to the living room. We'll be more comfortable there," James suggested. Sirius nodded and got up, following his friend to the living room. The door to the kitchen closed behind him and Sirius realized the inevitable was about to occur. He was glad, though, that James's parents weren't in the room. They seemed to know it would be easier for him to just tell it to James and even that was hard enough.

James sat down and so did he. The cushions of the couch were soft and he bounced up and down a bit, smiling. The room just had an air of warmness. There were lots of moving pictures on the wall of James as a baby playing with his own feet or smiling (Sirius snickered), James as a young boy running around the garden, and pictures of James and his parents. They were such a happy family and Sirius envied that. He wanted that too, but knew he could never have it.

His eyes fell upon the beautiful wooden cupboard, used for storing books. There were lots of books there, books about magic as well as Muggle books, he noticed.

The rest of his observation of the room was cut off as James spoke. "What happened to you?"

Sirius could hardly handle the worry and anger in James's voice and he considered lying but he knew he couldn't, not to James, not to his best friend.

He briefly looked at his friend – his brother – and saw the worry and compassion in his eyes. He turned to look at one of the pictures, staring straight ahead. It was easier when he didn't look at James.

"Had a slight disagreement with my parents," he started, leaving out the fact that it wasn't a disagreement but a fight and the fact that it had been about Mrs. Potter.

"Your parents did this to you?" James asked, absolutely horrified. Sirius just nodded. He heard his friend's short intake of breath.

"My dear mother," he hissed, "used the Cruciatus curse on me, several times, and a lot of other curses. There never was much time between the curses."

Bits and pieces were starting to come back to him now. He sank back in the memories.

He saw himself fall to the floor, body trashing and a violent scream being torn from his throat. He could see his parents standing there, watching, enjoying to see him get punished. He hated them more than ever at this moment.

James gasped as Sirius was starting to tell more details of what had happened. He couldn't stop telling now, he had to tell it. Had to tell it all.

The pain stopped and he was able to catch his breath. He lay on his side, tiny bits of sweat covering his entire body. It was over now. But he was wrong. He felt the agonizing pain again at the moment he heard that one word leave his mother's mouth. He automatically turned on his back again. The pain ripped through him like nothing he had ever felt before and he just wanted it to stop. He wasn't aware of screaming. Then it was done again. He was panting, the pain in his body not easing any. It only became worse when he was put under the spell for the third time. This time it seemed to last longer than the two times before or perhaps it just seemed that way. This time the pain was so bad that he wished he would just pass out. Just when his vision started to blur and his screams started to quiet down, did the curse end. He was allowed to recuperate for several minutes and prayed that it was now over. Again, no such luck.

He heard his mother utter a curse but couldn't be sure which one. Only when he felt as if someone sliced him with a knife, did he realize that the curse was a cutting curse. He yelped as several cuts appeared over his body, bleeding and hurting but not badly enough to kill him or even severely hurt him. He writhed on the floor as more cuts appeared and started bleeding. He wasn't sure how long it was before his mother stopped muttering the spell, but by that time he was sore, hurting and trying his best not to let his tears fall which was becoming more difficult with each curse that was cast upon him.

"Get up, boy," his mother sneered, disgust clear in her voice. Sirius, with the greatest difficulty, dragged himself to his feet. He felt light-headed and weak. He wanted to lie down and forget this whole thing, but he obviously couldn't, so he focused on staying upright and looking his parents in the eye, attempting not to look scared.

"You're pathetic," his father spat as he raised his wand and fired his own spell. Sirius had trouble understanding the words but soon found out what the spell did as the bones in his arm seemed to break out of themselves. He cried out in pain and clutched his arm to his chest, fresh tears forming in his eyes. How could they do this to him?

That curse was soon followed by another Cruciatus Curse, which caused him to fall down once more, landing on his injured arm and crying out again.

* * *

"After that, everything goes blank until I came to again," Sirius told James, clutching his now healed arm to his chest and shivering all over. His gaze was still focused on a picture of baby James, rather than on James himself.

James's mouth dropped open in absolute shock and horror halfway through what Sirius was telling him, and it stayed that way until Sirius had finished. How his parents could do that to their child remained a mystery. Sure, he knew that Sirius and his parents didn't have the best of relationships, but this? This was just plain wrong.

The feelings of anger going to through him made him want to grab his wand and go to Sirius's house. His hands clenched into fists and he had to bite his lip to stop himself from cursing with every possible swear word he knew. He realized Sirius did not need his anger right now. There was a time and place for everything and now was definitely not the place for anger, so he willed himself to calm down by taking a few deep breaths.

When he felt sure he wasn't going to yell anymore, he spoke up. "I … I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do."

He mentally kicked himself. What kind of answer was that? What on earth was Sirius going to say to that? He was not good with the whole comfort thing and definitely not when he was shocked beyond belief.

He saw Sirius smile slightly, although the other boy was still not looking at him. "You have already, James. You're here." Sirius's voice sounded small and lost, and that was highly unusual for the usual cheery Sirius he knew. He reached out and awkwardly rubbed Sirius's back. It was the only gesture he could quite think of.

While they sat in silence, he realized that Remus and Peter needed to know what had happened. They were their friends, they should be here too. He could owl them, saying Sirius had been hurt and that they should come down. Remus would know what to say, he always knew what to say.

"Sirius, mate, you need to let Remus and Peter know."

This time Sirius did look at him and he saw his eyes were watery. The pain reflected in his expression was clearly visible and it hurt James to see his best friend like that.

"I know … just not today."

James nodded his agreement. He understood that much. He slid a bit closer to his friend and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, tugging him closer. It was then that Sirius seemed to completely break down. It was the first time ever that James saw him cry like this. He could do nothing more than hold his friend and whispered incoherent words, hoping to sound soothing.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Seven**

Nearly a week passed before Sirius agreed it was time to tell Remus and Peter about what had happened to him. Sirius never said it, but James imagined he was ashamed, either because he hadn't attempted to fight back, because his parents had abused him in such a way, or because being abused like that had made him feel weak.

But at last, one morning over breakfast, Sirius looked over his heaping plate of rashers and eggs and asked Carolyn, "Would it be alright if I asked Remus and Peter to come over this afternoon?"

James paused for just a moment, his fork halfway to his mouth, and glanced up at his mother, who was smiling kindly. She'd taken an instant shine to Sirius, and doted on him in a way that always left Sirius smiling goofily, his face flushed slightly pink.

"Of course you may invite your friends over, Sirius," she answered. "It would be nice to have all the boys over and actually get to talk to them, instead of just seeing them at the platform." She nudged her husband gently, and his elbow slid onto his plate, his morning copy of the _Daily Prophet_ falling into his lap. "Wouldn't it, Harold?" she asked.

Looking slightly bewildered, Harold Potter shot a look at his son, who nodded ever so slightly. "Why, yes, Carolyn, I should say so," he answered, running a hand through his messy gray hair, making it stick up even worse.

Carolyn, shaking her own graying head, smoothed Harold's hair as she stood to clear the dishes, and Sirius, as always, jumped to help her. "Nonsense, Sirius," she smiled. "You're a guest here; James can help me while you go owl your friends."

James sighed dramatically, shoveled the rest of his breakfast into his mouth, and began to gather plates. As James reached for the plate his father's elbow had recently vacated, Harold grabbed him by his arm and tugged him down, mussing his already messy black hair.

"Dad!" James complained, laughing and struggling to get free. He danced out of his father's grasp, still laughing, and happened to look up at Sirius, who was watching the scene with an odd look on his face, a mixture of longing and envy. The smile froze on James's face as he watched Sirius slip from the room silently. He sighed.

"He'll be alright, James," Carolyn said, touching his arm lightly.

"He doesn't know where he's going to live," James blurted suddenly. Sirius had admitted that just the previous night, but it had plagued James ever since. He loathed the idea of Sirius returning to his family to endure more torture, but he knew that the small amount of money that Sirius had in his vault at Gringotts was not enough with which he could get by on his own.

Late in the night, or perhaps it was early in the morning, James had decided to ask his parents if they would take in Sirius. There were spare rooms in the Potter house, after all.

"What do you mean, 'he doesn't know where he's going to live'?" Carolyn asked. "He's going to live here. Where else would he go?"

James gaped at his mother for a moment, then looked to his father for confirmation. Harold smiled, no doubt at his son's gobsmacked expression, and said, "We decided having one troublemaker in the house just wasn't enough."

With a small laugh, James hugged first his mother, then his father, who continued, "Merlin help us."

* * *

That afternoon, James sat in his bedroom with Remus and Peter, both of whom began to bombard him with questions of his adventure to Lily's house. Eager to recount the event once again, he filled them in on as many details as he could remember. They howled with laughter as he recounted how Petunia had toppled over the table, and at his description of Vernon Dursley in his too-small tuxedo. He skimmed over what Petunia had said to Lily, instead saying she'd been upset that James had tricked her, but that Lily had found it amusing, and left it at that. He decided it wasn't right to tell anyone, even his closest friends, the secret Lily was keeping: that her sister hated her.

He'd just finished his tale when Sirius slipped into the room.

"Oi! Sirius, where have you been? We've been here for nearly an hour!" Remus said.

Sirius shifted from foot to foot. "Yeah, I – um…I know. I'm sort of staying here right now."

Peter, who hadn't said anything when Sirius came into the room, asked suddenly, "What happened to your face?"

"What happened to yours?" Sirius retorted, his hand going to his face and his mostly faded bruises and cuts.

"Did you get in a fight with Regulus again?" Remus asked.

"Well," Sirius began, "it's sort of why I'm staying here."

By the time Sirius had finished his shortened version of what had happened to him, Peter had gone deathly white and Remus was pacing the room, his wand clenched in his hand erupting with showers of sparks every time he turned to pace back the way he'd come. At last, James took his wand and let him continue pacing. There was a long moment of silence, and James sent an encouraging nod to Sirius, who smiled nervously.

"I may kill them," Remus growled at last. "Next full moon."

Seeing Sirius's face go white, James shook his head slightly at his werewolf friend.

"Or I could just send them a howler," Remus amended quickly. "Full of Ever-Itching Powder."

Sirius barked a short laugh, and the tension in the room broke as the boys began to brainstorm different harmless to hurtful pranks they could pull over Mr. and Mrs. Black. James eventually steered the conversation to the Solstice Ball, which was only a week away, and announced he was going to invite Lily Evans to be his date. This pronouncement was met with more riotous laughter, but it only strengthened his resolve.

Lily Evans had smiled at him, and she'd cared what he'd thought of her horrible sister. He was going to invite her to the Ball. He made up his mind that he would owl her the following day, asking her.

The other boys began to discuss which girls they thought they might ask, which distracted them completely from Sirius. He saw the look of gratitude Sirius shot him, and he rolled his eyes at the other two, shaking his head slightly. Sirius smiled.

Carolyn called up the stairs that dinner was on the table shortly after that, and all four boys trooped down to the dining room. After a delicious dinner in which Harold let slip, much to Carolyn's mock displeasure, a few more choice pranks he'd played in his youth, Carolyn stood to gather the dishes.

As always, Sirius hopped up to help. "Oh, thank you, Sirius," Carolyn sighed, smiling. "It's nice to have one son who will help out with the dishes."

Sirius froze, his hand reaching for Peter's plate, and looked at Carolyn, an astonished, hopeful look on his face.

In spite of his other friends being there, James felt his eyes mist over, just for a moment, before he blinked. He didn't think he'd ever loved his mother more than he did just then.

"What?" Sirius asked, his hand still frozen in place.

"And one who keeps his room so clean, as well," Harold commented, reaching over and patting Sirius on the back. Sirius turned to look at him, his hand going slack at his side.

"His – my room?" he asked, looking quickly at James, who shrugged his shoulder, unable to contain his smile.

"Though, you might want to consider redecorating it. Looks like someone's mother chose the wallpaper," Carolyn quipped, continuing to gather dishes.

"Redecorating?" Sirius echoed, looking as though he didn't dare to believe what he was hearing.

"Well, unless you like it that way," James said at last. "But I'll have to take the mickey if you leave it like that."

Sirius snorted, then burst out laughing, and hugged Carolyn, who quickly put down her pile of plates. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Her own eyes looking suspiciously moist, Carolyn smoothed his hair and said, "You know, you boys should go and talk in one of your bedrooms. Harold can help with the dishes tonight."

* * *

Living with the Potters was far different from living with the Blacks, Sirius decided. The difference was like night and day. As opposed to constant criticism and degradation, it was kindness and warmth. Instead of having a sullen brother displeased with his Gryffindor kin, he had a brother who actually wanted to talk to him or play Quidditch, or Wizard's Chess.

There were dishes to be done after meals, which was also a change. Though the Potters were moderately wealthy, they chose not to regularly employ house-elves (though they would be bringing in some to help with the Ball), which meant, for the first time in his life, Sirius was expected to clean up after himself, and do his own laundry.

Therefore, two days after the Potters had invited him to live with them, his room was a wreck, and a small pile of laundry had begun to collect on the floor.

"Thank goodness," James commented. "You were making me look bad."

Another difference Sirius noticed was in himself. He felt lighter than he had in years, knowing he never had to return to his family, their abuse, or their criticism. Though at random moments during the day, he would ache for his mother to have just once shown him the kind of love that Carolyn Potter heaped on him, he couldn't remember being happier.

So, it was with a bounce in his step that he traipsed into James's bedroom after breakfast one morning two days before the Solstice Ball. James was staring, slack jawed, at the note he held in his hand, paying no attention to the owl sitting on his desk, impatiently pecking at his other hand.

"What's up, mate?" Sirius asked, giving the owl a treat and sending it on its way.

James gaped at the letter for another moment, his mouth working wordlessly. At last, he managed to say, his voice full of awe, "She said yes!"


	8. Chapter Eight

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Captain J. Black was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Eight**

"Who said yes to what?" asked Sirius, bemused.

"Lily! She said she would, and I quote, 'Certainly, James, I would like to go to your parents' ball with you'," read James, grinning like a madman.

"Congratulations, mate!" said Sirius. "Who knows, maybe this will be the year that Evans says finally agrees to go out with you."

James just looked at his now closer than ever friend, and asked hopefully, "Do you really think that this will be the year?"

"It might be, if you keep your cool," Sirius said, crossing the hall to his room.

"So, did you decide who are you going to ask?" James asked, following Sirius into his messy room.

Sirius looked up from his pile of dirty laundry, frowning slightly. "Haven't the foggiest," answered Sirius as he reached down grudgingly and began to sort his laundry into piles.

"What about that girl from Ravenclaw you were seeing at the end of last year?" James suggested.

"She got way too clingy, mate. No way," Sirius answered vehemently.

"Oh," responded James.

"Yeah, so maybe I will ask Sara or Marie to go with me… perhaps Cadence," said Sirius, thinking of all the possibilities.

"Oh, boys, there you are. I wanted to talk to you about the Ball," Carolyn said, walking into Sirius's room. She looked around the room and then she looked pointedly at Sirius.

"I am going to tell you the same thing I tell James: Clean your room!" she said exasperatedly.

"I am in the process of doing that right now," Sirius defended.

"Anyway, what did you want to say about the Ball, Mum?" James asked, hiding his grin.

"Oh, yes, my friend Violet is bringing her daughter to the Ball. Her daughter is, I believe, one year younger than you both and she will need an escort to the Ball. Will one of you please do the honors?" she asked the two boys.

"I can't, I already have a date," James said grinning broadly.

"I'll do it," said Sirius, shrugging.

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Mrs. Potter, grinning broadly. "Now, James, who is the young lady you are bringing to our little party?"

"Her name is Lily Evans," Sirius answered for James, who swiveled his head to stare at Sirius, a warning look on his face.

"Have I seen her before?" Carolyn asked, oblivious to James's discomfort.

"She is hard to miss," Sirius replied, ignoring James.

James gave up looking grouchy and grinned, far too excited to not be smiling. "Yeah, Mum, you have. Remember at the train station, the redheaded girl who told Remus they had to go to the Prefects meeting?" James said, smiling goofily

"Oh, that's the girl? She was really pretty. Her eyes were so beautiful," Carolyn remembered. James just grinned even bigger.

"Yeah, they are, aren't they," he said dreamily. Sirius started to laugh and Carolyn just smiled at her son's dreamy expression.

* * *

The day of the Solstice Ball finally arrived. Remus and Peter had gotten to the Potters' house the night before, and they were all preparing for the ball. James planned to wear black dress robes and Sirius was going in a set of new midnight blue robes. Both of the boys looked very handsome, according to Mrs. Potter, who had gone with the boys when they had their robes fitted. Remus was going in black robes, as well, and poor Peter was going to be wearing yellow robes. His mum had picked them out for him while she was out shopping and was forcing him to wear them.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter had been preparing for weeks. Their humble manor looked drastically different. They had expanded their sitting room to ten times its original size, and lowered the floor, creating a grand ballroom. The three steps that originally led down into the sitting room were now a grand staircase so that when the party goers arrived they could be announced and make a grand entrance. Everything was decorated in different shades of gold, champagne, and cream. It was very formal and very beautiful. There were round tables that had room enough for eight people to sit comfortably. Each table had name cards in front of each chair. There were to be close to five hundred people at the ball this year.

The boys waited nervously in James's and Sirius's rooms. They kept Carolyn and Harold laughing all morning and into the afternoon because they were acting so worried. The boys started out in James's room and migrated to Sirius's, and then they sat and panicked for a bit about their dates and their dancing skills, and then moved down to the kitchen. James was especially nervous, waiting for his date to arrive.

After Lily had agreed to go to the ball with James, they had decided that she would arrive at the Potters in time for lunch, and visit with the boys a bit. Then she said she would need to start getting ready around five in the evening. When James told that to his mum, she said that the boys should invite all their dates to come over as well so that Lily would not feel odd. Remus and Peter agreed and sent letters to their dates, who agreed to come early, as well. Carolyn told Sirius not to worry, saying that his date would come in time for lunch, as well.

"What time is it?" James asked, trying to smooth his hair anxiously. He was wearing a pair of nice Muggle blue jeans and a white, short-sleeved button up shirt over a black undershirt, and a pair of white sneakers. He'd agonized over what to wear, which had made his friends laugh at him, but he wanted to make sure he looked nice for Lily.

"Nearly time for lunch," answered Remus, picking at a loose thread in his slightly frayed shirt.

"Calm down, mate, you're making the rest of us nervous," Sirius admonished James, looking tense.

Just then, there was a knock at the front door. James shot up out of his chair so quickly that it toppled backwards, and bolted for the door. He got to the front door before anyone else even realized someone had knocked. James steadied himself as the rest of the Marauders crowded into the entry way.

"Well, what are you waiting for, mate? Open the door!" Sirius said, laughing. James glared at him, then turned and opened the door. Lily was standing there, holding a small bag in her hand, which James assumed held her supplies and clothing for the Ball. She smiled at James and waited for him to say something. He didn't, unable to make his mouth work.

"Seeing as how James isn't going to invite you in, Lily, I will," Sirius said. Elbowing James out of the doorway, he gave a dramatic sweeping bow and said, "Right this way, my lady."

Lily laughed softly and followed Sirius upstairs. The other boys gave James incredulous looks, and followed Lily and Sirius upstairs.

"This is where you'll be staying," Sirius said, walking into a spare room.

"Thanks, Sirius," she replied, looking around, probably for James.

"Hey Lils," greeted Remus as he walked in

"Remus! Hey!" she returned his greeting. He walked over and gave her a friendly hug.

"Hey Lily," Peter said from the door way. He also moved in and gave Lily a hug.

"Oh, well, now I am just jealous," voiced Sirius from the bed, "I greeted you first AND I led you to your room and I don't even get a 'Hello, Sirius. How are you?'" he said, pouting. Lily grinned and gave him a hug.

"Hello, Sirius. How are you?" she said with a laugh.

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking," he replied, smirking at her.

"Um… where's James?" she asked. "I mean, he invited me here and he didn't even ask me in."

"Yeah, sorry about that, Lily," James said, appearing in the doorway. He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly at her. "You look great."

James thought Lily looked breath-taking, really. She was wearing the pale green fitted t-shirt that James had always liked on her, as well as a pair of tight Muggle jeans and some green sandals. She beamed at James when he complimented her.

"Thank you, James," she said smiling at him and blushing slightly.

"Boys, someone has just flooed in!" Carolyn called from downstairs. The four boys and Lily went down to the kitchen to greet the new arrival. The newest guest was a pretty girl around their age, holding a bag and dusting soot off her clothes. She didn't notice them enter because she was talking excitedly to James's mum.

"Oh, there you are," Carolyn said, smiling proudly. "Sirius, dear, this is your date, Katrina. Katrina, this is one of my sons Sirius, and that one over there with the glasses is my other son James," she told the newcomer, beaming at her boys. Sirius's eyes misted over after she said that, and so had James's, but they quickly got that out of their systems.

"You hear that?" James whispered to Remus. "I'm already the _other_ son."

Remus snickered.

Ignoring his friends, Sirius stepped forward. "Hello, Katrina," he said. "Let me show you where you will be getting ready."

"Hello, Sirius. That would be nice," she said with a bit of an accent.

"You have quite an accent. Where are you from?" asked Remus. "I'm Remus, by the way."

"I'm from Australia," Katrina answered. "And it's nice to meet you."

"Oh yeah!" said Sirius. "That is Peter, and this is Lily," he said, pointing the other two out. Right as the group was about to go upstairs, another burst of green flames came from the fireplace. Out stumbled another girl, one with black hair that reached her lower back, honey colored eyes, and a tall slender figure.

"Maddie!" said Remus from behind James. "How are you?" he said squeezing his way out of the group.

"Hello, Remus," she said, giggling. "I'm fine. How is your summer so far?"

"Good as can be expected," he answered. "Let me introduce you to the gang." He paused, then looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, you already know Lils, and Peter, and James, and Sirius, of course. This is Katrina. She's from Australia," he said pointing everyone out.

"Hey all!" she greeted. "Where can I put my bags?" she asked, pulling a couple of shrunken bags from her pocket.

"Would you like me to resize those for you, dear?" Carolyn asked helpfully.

"Yes, please!" Maddie answered, placing the bags on the ground. Carolyn flicked her wand and the bags grew to their normal size. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, dear," Carolyn answered

"Oh yeah! That's my mum, Carolyn, and my dad, Harold," James said, remembering to introduce his parents.

"Boys, why don't you show the girls their room?" Harold suggested from behind the paper he hadn't read yet.

"Good idea!" James said cheerfully. He led the way upstairs and showed the girls to the room they had shown to Lily earlier.

"For now you can put your things in here," Sirius said. "Then when it's time for you to actually get ready, two of you will be getting dressed in my room."

"And where will you lot be getting ready?" asked Lily suspiciously.

"In my room," James answered, grinning.

"Oh, alright," Lily said, still looking slightly apprehensive.

"Let's go back to the kitchen and see if Lucy is here yet," Peter suggested. The group murmured their agreement and followed him downstairs.

When they got into the kitchen, they saw a mouse of a girl talking to Carolyn animatedly. She was wearing bright pink robes and her hair was in three pigtails. She had a small bag on her back and was thanking Mrs. Potter for letting her attend the ball with Peter. The group of teens just grinned.

"Hey Lucy!" Lily said, smiling widely.

"Lily!" the petite blonde exclaimed. "I didn't know you would be here!"

"Yeah! I'm going with James," Lily admitted, blushing slightly again. James took that blush as a good sign, and grinned smugly.

"So you've FINALLY decided to give him a shot, then?" Lucy asked, grinning at Lily's red face.

"So, how has you summer been, Lucy?" Peter spoke up, saving Lily from answering.

"Oh, there you are Peter! My summer has been wonderful. How about yours?" Lucy replied.

The group just smiled and went upstairs to show Lucy where she would be getting ready. Once everyone was settled, they came downstairs again, just as Carolyn was putting the last dishes on the table. They sat down for lunch, talking excitedly about the Ball, and just enjoyed the feeling of all being together again.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Tiffany was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Nine**

After they finished a very filling lunch, the group of friends headed for the sitting room to talk about the beginning of their summers and spend some time together. Carolyn set them up with some sandwiches, pumpkin juice, and Chocolate Frogs, and left them alone for the afternoon.

James had completely lost track of time when his mother reappeared in the doorway to the sitting room. "While I'd like you all to stay down here and chat, perhaps get to know each other better, I'm afraid that the guests will be arriving soon and you should really start getting ready for the ball," said Carolyn.

"Aw, Mum, do we have to?" asked James, looking up from his intense game of Wizard's Chess that he was playing with Lily.

"Now, come on James ... we should listen to your Mum. After all, she knows best!" said Lily, getting up from the floor.

"You're just saying that because you were about to lose," muttered James, but he stood up as well.

"Why don't I help the girls up to their rooms to get ready?" Carolyn suggested.

The girls nodded, and followed after Carolyn, who added, "Please be ready in an hour. After all, you're going to be greeting the guests!"

* * *

Tugging at the collar of his dress robes, James stared at his reflection in the mirror. He fiddled with his glasses, taking them off and putting them back on, and ran an agitated hand through his hair. At last, he protested, "I'm glad that I get to dance with Lily, but I hate getting dressed up! It's so much work."

Peter rolled his eyes and snickered, "If you think that you're getting dressed up, think again! The girls are probably putting in twice as much work into their appearances as you are."

"Probably even three times," laughed Remus, taking in James's messy hair.

"What?" James groused, looking down at himself in the mirror again. So, his tie was hanging undone around his neck, and his shiny dress shoes were still untied. What was the big deal?

Sirius watched James as he began to wrestle with his tie, amused by his friend's antics. He grinned and admitted, "I'm actually having a good time! If I was at home..." He trailed off, his smile slowly falling from his face.

James clapped Sirius on the back and shook his head slightly at Peter, who opened his mouth to say something. Looking into Sirius's eyes, he said, "Hey, mate, don't think about them. You're one of the Potters now."

Sirius's smile returned and he gave James a quick one armed hug, which ended in a hearty thump on James's back. He cleared his throat and turned away, and went to the mirror to finish tying his dark blue tie.

A few rooms away, the girls' room was in the midst of controlled chaos. Various tubes and containers of make-up lay scattered on every flat surface, and discarded curlers and bobby pins littered the floor. They'd quickly discovered that it was going to take them longer than an hour to get ready, no matter how quickly they rushed. Carolyn stuck her head in from time to time, to check on their progress, and they heard guests arriving long before they were done getting ready. Lily was actually ready long before any of the other girls, and sat and waited patiently as they talked amongst themselves.

As they worked on putting the finishing touches on their hair and faces, Maddie asked excitedly, "Can you believe that we're going to be dancing in this gorgeous manor soon?"

Lucy gigged, pulling lightly at the strands of loose hair that she'd left out of her bun. "I was a bit shocked when Peter asked me," she said. "After all, he never really talked to me at Hogwarts. He was always stuttering over his words. It was rather adorable, actually."

Katrina gave a knowing grin. "That always happened to me in Australia!"

There was a knock at the door and Carolyn entered again, smiling widely. "My goodness! You ladies all look beautiful!" she remarked.

And stunning the girls looked.

Katrina was dressed in a crimson gown that brought out the highlights in her wavy brown hair, which lay in beautifully curled ringlets against her shoulders. The gown sparkled here and there with shiny gold bangles, and the overall effect of the dress reminded Lily of Gryffindor's colors.

Lucy wore a darling blue gown that came to her knees, and had a gold sash wrapped around her waist, accentuating her figure. Her blonde hair was no longer in pigtails, but instead it was wrapped elegantly into a mature bun, with strands of hair coming down to frame her pretty face.

Maddie was wearing a tawny floor-length gown, which looked lovely with her beautiful skin tone. It also brought out the color of her eyes, which sparkled with a hint of shimmering eye-shadow. She smiled at Carolyn and patted her hair, which was curled into a partial up do, making sure it was finished.

"Sorry we took so long," Maddie said. "But I think we're ready now."

Carolyn clapped her hands together, looking excited. "Shall we go meet the boys, then?"

* * *

The boys stood anxiously in the empty entrance hall, looking up the stairs occasionally and not talking very much. James nervously adjusted his green tie as he brushed a piece of lint from his suit. The other three boys were dressed pretty much the same way as James, but each looked rather dapper in his own way.

Sirius was about to ruffle James's hair and tell him to calm down, when he heard Peter's sharp intake of breath.

He looked up at the top of the stairs, and saw four gorgeous young women.

They slowly descended the stairway with Carolyn following them down, and when they reached the bottom, each girl went to her date's side.

James knew that the other three girls looked amazing, but Lily was absolutely the most beautiful girl out of the bunch. She looked absolutely breathtaking in an emerald green gown that reached her heels. Her hair was wrapped elegantly into a fancy twist, and James could see a hint of make-up, which accented her gorgeous green eyes as well as her lips, which were curved up in a shy smile.

"You - you look ... wow," he managed to utter.

Lily laughed. "You don't look too bad yourself," she said to him.

James held out his elbow to her, and she took it. James thought he could feel her shaking ever so slightly.

Carolyn clapped her hands again. "You all look wonderful." She paused as the clock began to chime the hour. "The guests have already arrived, so you needn't worry about greeting them. So, feel free to dance, eat, and have a good time!" she said. She gave James, and then Sirius, a quick hug before she turned and went into the ballroom, leaving the group standing in the parlor, looking at each other and wondering what to do.

* * *

After they'd eaten their fill of the delicious food, they sat around the table for a while, talking animatedly and watching the dancing going on around them. After a while, the girls, looking slightly crestfallen, had wandered off to talk to some of their friends.

Meanwhile, James sat at the table, watching Lily's every move and looking supremely frustrated. He made to stand up half a dozen times before returning to his seat and staring at his hands, his brow wrinkled.

Remus, amused by this, at last leaned over and asked him, "Why don't you just ask her to dance?"

"I ... I'm ... scared," James whispered, still staring at his hands.

Though James had admitted that to Remus in the hopes that his other friends wouldn't hear, Sirius snorted into his butterbeer, nearly spraying it across the table. He leaned over to join the conversation, much to James's displeasure. "The great James Potter, scared?" asked Sirius.

"I don't see you asking Katrina to dance, do I?" retorted James.

The girls, apparently feeling the scrutiny, glanced over at the boys, and Lucy waved, while the rest sent pointed looks at their dates and went back to their conversation.

"I'll ask!" said Peter suddenly.

"You?" asked the other three in incredulous tones.

Peter looked a bit unsure of himself. "Um ... I ... no. Well, alright."

He puffed up his chest and strutted over to Lucy. He took her by the hand, said a few words, and before the other boys realized what was happening, the two were heading towards the dance floor.

"Did he just…?" asked James.

"Yeah ... Wormtail really did it!" said Remus.

Remus straightened his brown tie suddenly, and stood. "Well, if Peter managed to do it ... I can, too!" And he headed over to Maddie, who looked delighted as he led her to the dance floor.

A few minutes later, Sirius followed, looking positively pleased with himself as Katrina wrapped herself around him as they danced.

James sat alone at his table, fiddling with his empty cup of pumpkin juice and watching Lily, who stood off to the side of the dance floor, watching the dancing. She kept shooting him glances, and he could tell by the look on her face that she was starting to get really irritated.

Lily huffed to herself, and crossed her arms. It appeared James had no intention of asking her to dance, and she really, really wanted to dance. Why'd he ask her to this ball if he wasn't going to dance with her? Was this another one of his jokes?

Just as she was about to stomp over to James and demand to know what he was doing, leaving her standing alone, a handsome young wizard stepped into her view and offered her his hand.

"Hello," he said. "I'm Oliver Davenport, a friend of Mrs. Potter's. I noticed you standing over here all alone, and I was wondering if you'd like to dance with me."

Lily bit her lip. She was James's date. She shot another glance at him, but saw that he was staring hard at his hands. She sighed and muttered, "Why not?" She took his arm and let him lead her onto the dance floor.

Remus danced Maddie over to Sirius and Katrina, and nudged him. "What?" Sirius growled, looking annoyed with the interruption. Remus nodded toward Lily and her dancing partner, and Sirius's mouth fell open.

"What's she doing dancing with him?" Sirius said, shocked.

"My guess is she got sick of waiting for James to do it," Remus replied regretfully.

"Guys!" Peter said breathlessly, hurrying over, dragging Lucy with him. "Lily's dancing with some other bloke!"

"Yes, Peter, we noticed," Sirius said, looking over at James, who seemed to be deep in conversation with himself.

"Okay ... I'll do it. Now!"

"No ... I can't. What if I step on her toes?"

"No! I have to!"

James forced himself to his feet, and still staring at his hands, he walked over to Lily. He was quite surprised when he realized she was no longer there.

"Where did she go?" he asked, bewildered. He looked around at the dancers and spotted her fiery red hair. She was dancing with somebody that looked vaguely familiar.

Lily's dance partner turned and James got a good look at him. Growling in frustration, he recognized Oliver Davenport, whom his mother absolutely adored. Oliver attended Durmstrang, and according to his mother, he was the head of his class. He wasn't a jerk, but to James, something about him wasn't right. He always seemed to look down upon James, and was seemingly always one step ahead of James no matter what. And now it looked like he had taken Lily.

Well, that was where James drew the line. Oliver could be better than him at everything else, but he was not going to beat James to Lily. He strode across the dance floor and tapped him on the shoulder.

"May I cut in?" asked James, looking darkly at Oliver.

Oliver frowned, but Lily looked a bit relieved. She nodded, and James gladly took her into his arms and danced her away from Oliver.

As soon as Oliver disappeared from view, the smile fell off Lily's face and she ripped herself free of his arms. "The only reason I said yes to you was because I wanted to get away from Oliver. He was boring me to tears talking about Durmstrang!" Lily snapped. "So you can wipe that smug grin off of your face because I don't want to dance with you!" She glared at him, and then rushed out into the gardens, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the dance floor.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Captain J. Black was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Ten**

James just stood on the dance floor, shocked, until a hand gave him a sharp push after Lily. He turned and saw Remus dancing away with his date, but the werewolf shot him a look over his shoulder. James turned and determinedly walked off the dance floor after Lily.

It was pleasantly cool outside, with a slight breeze. James watched Lily's back disappear into a darkened section of the garden. He followed after her, and found her standing near a fountain, her shoulders slumped.

"Lily," he whispered, stopping a few feet behind of her. Her shoulders tensed, and he thought he heard her sniffling. "I'm sorry," he apologized quietly, sounding ashamed.

"Why did you even bother asking me to be your date?" she asked, sounding hurt. He almost hadn't heard the question over the splash of the fountain, she was speaking so quietly. He'd never seen her like this before.

"I asked you because I wanted to you to come with me," he answered quickly, taking a small step forward.

She whirled then, her dress fanning out around her. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him, her face still hidden in shadows. "Then why didn't you ask me to dance?" she demanded, her voice growing louder.

"I… well you see… um… er… I… Oh, bother," he said haltingly, trying to answer her question honestly. He took a deep breath and started again. "Well, I was sort of scared that you wouldn't want to dance with me, and then I got more scared because what if you did want to dance, then we would and it was slow dancing music and I just panicked, but I was talking myself into going to ask you to dance and right when I was about to, you were already dancing with Oliver," James said, his voice laced with jealousy.

"You panicked?" she exclaimed, taking a step forward. James could see her eyes now, and they were flashing at him angrily. James was very familiar with that look. It meant she was on the verge of a full-out rant. "Why on earth would you panic? James! I said that I would go with you to the ball with the full understanding that there would be dancing! While you took your time deciding whether or not you wanted to dance with me, all of our friends were out dancing and I was left all by myself to do nothing! What is wrong with you?" she shouted at him.

"I don't know!" he yelled back. "I said that I was sorry and I really am!"

"James, I need to go," Lily said, her shoulders slumping again. She pressed her forehead into her hand, and she stared at the ground.

"Go?" James asked, panicking anew. Lily couldn't leave. He hadn't had a chance to dance with her yet. He hadn't had a chance to make up for being an enormous prat. "Where are you going?"

"I need to go – to go to sleep, James. I suppose I'll see you in the morning," Lily said, brushing past him and walking away from him. James turned, his mouth open in unvoiced protest, and watched her go. She passed Remus on her way in, and James watched as she paused for a moment to say something to him before she disappeared inside.

Remus came out into the gardens, and headed in his direction. "Prongs, are you out here?" he called, his voice soft and soothing.

"Yeah," James answered dejectedly.

Remus walked over to the corner of the garden where James was standing. He sat down on the wall surrounding the fountain and waited for James to start talking. James sat next to him and looked up at the window to the room where Lily was staying. Presently, the light flicked on and her silhouette passed the window. James sighed unhappily and turned his gaze to the ground, which he scuffed with his shoe. Soon, Sirius stuck his head out the door and spotted them sitting in the dark. He disappeared for a moment, and then returned with Peter, and the two boys came out and sat next to James and Remus.

"What are you two doing out here?" asked Remus.

"The girls are all upstairs getting ready for bed. Mum said they could all stay the night so that – so that Lily wouldn't be alone," Sirius answered, his casual tone somewhat forced.

"Oh, I see," Remus answered blandly.

"So, what's going on out here?" Peter asked hurriedly.

"Lily and I got into a row. I think I just ruined what little chance I had with her," James said, sighing heavily.

"What did you row about? Because you didn't dance with her, or something else?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, that was it," James said sadly. "I was going to ask her, I swear I was! But then I – well, I just panicked." He sighed again.

"Sorry, mate," Sirius said, patting James's back. He heard a window open above their heads, and he looked up at the house. He saw the window that James had noticed earlier, and now it was open. He nudged Remus and pointed and then he did the same to Peter. Just then, they noticed Maddie at the window, looking down at them.

"So, Prongs, how exactly do you feel about Lily?" Peter asked loudly. James looked at him like he was crazy.

"I'm right here, Wormtail. You don't have to yell," James said, wincing slightly. "Besides, you know how I feel about Lily."

Sirius chanced a glance up again. Maddie grinned at him and disappeared from the window. In a moment, she came back with the other girls, dragging Lily to the front of the group.

Looking down quickly, Sirius gave Remus a meaningful look before prodding James again. "Well?" questioned Sirius. "What would it hurt to tell us again how you feel about Lily?"

"You lot ask me that all the time. Don't I always give you the same answer?" James asked grumpily.

"Just humor us, mate," Peter said, grinning.

James pondered the question for a while, frowning slightly. Then his face softened with a slight smile. "Well… I really like her a lot," James said at last.

"Just what do you like about her?" Remus prompted.

"Her eyes, and her hair, and the way she walks and smells and… just – I don't know. I like every thing about her," he sighed, kicking at the ground with his shoes again.

Sirius looked up once more. The four girls in the window were smiling down on the boys, but it was the look on Lily's face that nearly made Sirius want to direct James's gaze upward. Her hand was on her heart, and a pleased smile warmed her face.

* * *

The next morning, Lily was a lot nicer to James, but it was clear she was still somewhat upset with him. She did ask him to keep writing to her over the summer, though. Of course, she also asked the other boys to do the same thing, but to James that didn't matter one bit.

The girls left shortly after breakfast, after thanking Carolyn and Harold for being such kind hosts. Lily was the last to leave, and she looked as though she wanted to say something, but instead, she pressed her lips closed, waved in farewell, and hurried down the walk to her mother's car, where her sister sat in the passenger seat, looking furious. When Lily opened the door to climb in, James was certain he heard Petunia call her a freak, but he didn't think the other boys had heard.

After seeing that James looked rather down about something, Carolyn invited Peter and Remus to stay for a few extra days, and they agreed readily. The boys spent the rest of the morning rough-housing and playing games in the garden. At lunchtime, they went in and ate, then helped Carolyn clean up from the Ball. There wasn't really anything for them to do, though, because the house-elves that had been hired for the Ball had already done most of the work.

Two nights later, the boys were in James's room, lounging on the camp-beds that had been set up for them in there. It was well past midnight and the rest of the house was quiet, but they had been up for a while, just talking to each other.

"So, the full moon is next week," James observed.

"Yes, she is," Remus answered with a sigh.

"So, we're all going to Remus's house all of next week, then, right?" Peter asked, rolling onto his stomach and looking at the boy in question.

"No, we're going to Africa for all of next week," Sirius answered sarcastically.

"Yes, Peter, you'll all be coming to my home for all of next week," Remus answered, tossing a pillow at Sirius.

"This is going to be great," James said excitedly. "I mean, this will be the first summer where we can all be with you, Remus."

"Yeah, it'll be nice not to be alone, locked up in the basement," Remus replied, dodging the pillow as Sirius threw it back at him.

"Right, let's start making the plans, then," Sirius said, hitching himself up on his elbows and rubbing his hands together.

"How about we do that in the morning, mate?" Peter asked, yawning.

"Yeah, I'm with Peter on this one," Remus agreed. "Let's just go to sleep."

Soon after that, the boys dropped off to sleep, one by one.

The next day, the boys spent most of their time making the plans that they would put into action during the week of the full moon. There wasn't too much to worry about, though, because both of Remus's parents were briefly leaving town on business. Remus's mother would be locking him in the basement and then she would leave for two days. The morning after the full moon, the door would unlock, and Remus would be free to return to the rest of the house to recover from his transformation.

The days leading up to the week of the full moon were spent in bliss. The boys continued to stay at the Potter house, and they went shopping in Diagon Alley once or twice with Carolyn and Harold. The boys also took to wandering around Godric's Hollow. James explained that it used to be nearly exclusively a wizarding village, but now there was a large population of Muggles, as well.

Finally, Saturday arrived, and the boys went to sleep that night ready to leave for Remus's house in the morning, for a week full of adventure, fun, and misbehavior.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Beckiemalfoy and Yellowwolf were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Eleven**

The day began innocently enough, Sirius and James woke up around the same time, possibly due to the smell of sizzling bacon and freshly brewed coffee, although was probably due to the fact that Sirius thought it would be funny to pour cold water over James's head. After he finished sputtering and yelling in shock, James leapt out of bed and chased Sirius down to the kitchen.

"So, how long will you be staying with Remus?" Carolyn asked whilst dishing out the breakfast plates. James and Sirius were to meet up with Peter and Remus at the Leaky Cauldron around eleven, and then they'd head back to Remus's house for the week. James was too busy glaring at Sirius over his coffee cup and mumbling incoherent threats at his adoptive brother to answer, so Sirius answered, instead.

"A week, I think we agreed on, but if anything changes, I'm sure ickle Jamesie will owl you."

James shifted slightly in his seat and smiled in satisfaction as his foot connected with Sirius's shin, causing the boy in question to gasp sharply.

James looked at his mother innocently. "What our dear, darling Sirius is _trying_ to say, is that we'll be away for the week, and when he gets homesick, he'll owl you but he'll sign it from me."

A splutter of indignation came from across the table, and James noticed as his father tried to smother the noise of his snickering as he watched his two boys battle for the upper hand.

Carolyn watched them banter back and forth and rolled her eyes. James knew that she was happy; she'd told him to make sure that they both – Sirius in particular – had as much fun as was legally possible during their summer holidays.

"Alright, boys," she smirked, turning to put her empty plate by the sink. "I get the idea. You'll both be so homesick you'll each sign the letters you send home with each other's names."

Sirius and James just stared at her, matching looks of surprised shock on their faces. Harold laughed outright at them, and shook his head before glancing at his watch. "You boys best go get ready. It's half past ten and you'll need to be on your way soon."

Stumbling out of the Floo at the Leaky Cauldron, Sirius and James dusted themselves off and looked round for the familiar mops of hair of their friends. Spotting both Remus and Peter already sitting at a table in deep conversation, they bounded over to them.

"Morning to all! Shall we be going? Lets go!" Sirius said cheerfully, turning and skipping through the thankfully nearly deserted pub. He was out the door to the courtyard before Remus, James, and Peter could exchange hellos of their own.

"He's awfully chipper this morning," Remus observed as he and Peter stood from their table.

"And that's what I was subjected to this morning when he woke me up," James sighed, explaining what Sirius had done to wake him. Peter and Remus tried unsuccessfully to cover their laughs at the woebegone expression on James's face as they made their way out the door and to the entrance to Diagon Alley, where Sirius was waiting for them impatiently.

"You and sleep is like Moony and his chocolate. Take it away and you'll sulk," Peter choked out, his pointed face pink with laughter.

Looking outraged, James and Remus simultaneously shouted, "HEY!" Sirius and Peter looked at each other and laughed.

After tumbling through the entryway to Diagon Alley, the boys spent most of the afternoon gathering what they believed they needed for the coming week. During their excursion, Remus and James got their retribution for Peter's comment by buying him a cage with a wheel, while James presented Sirius with a collar, to get back at him for soaking him that morning. On their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, they all fawned – or in James's and Sirius's cases, drooled – over the new brooms in Quality Quidditch Supply. At last Remus reminded them that his mother was expecting them, and they turned reluctantly away, and made their way to the pub and it's floo.

Remus's mother had already set the dinner table by the time the boys had arrived.

"Did you boys have a good day?"

"We did," Remus said quickly.

"Yeah," Peter and Sirius said at once.

"Great, thanks!" James replied, plopping down at the table and sniffing the air, trying to figure out what Mrs. Lupin was cooking.

The rest of the boys joined him at the table. James heard several hungry stomachs rumbling, and grinned at Sirius, who put his napkin in his lap and looked up expectantly.

Laughing slightly, Mrs. Lupin sent the plates of food over to the table with a flick of her wand. After the mad scramble to fill their plates, the boys settled into the quiet rhythm of eating ravenously.

As she joined them, Remus's mother said, "Just so you boys understand, you'll have to go home Tuesday morning, but then you'll be able to come back on Wednesday night, although as I'm sure you know, Remus will still feel a little ill."

The boys looked up as one, their food momentarily forgotten. James shot a glance at Remus, who kept his face in a carefully crafted look of supreme innocence. He was a little shocked that Remus's Mum had brought up with the subject at all, but as he finally caught Remus's eye, he smirked and answered for them all.

"Yes, we do, but then at least Remus's furry little problem will be out of the way for a while!"

"Good. I don't know how many times I've said this, but I'm so glad you three could look past his ... furry little problem."

The boys chuckled and carried on eating.

After dinner, they made their way up to Remus's room which they would be sharing for the week. They had planned that after Remus's mother had left, the three animagi would return and spend the two days with Remus anyway, although they planned to leave early on Wednesday morning to make sure they weren't caught in the house.

Tuesday morning came too soon for the four boys. Remus's parents had to leave around lunchtime, so the boys were forced to get up at ten. They went downstairs to eat breakfast with Remus's parents before heading back upstairs to start packing their things. While they had only been at the house for two nights, the boys had managed to transform the normally tidy room into a downright mess. It took them a while to gather their belongings as they were strewn all around the room, and several times they couldn't decide to whom a certain object actually belonged to.

It seemed quite a waste of time to clean up since they would be back soon, but they could hardly leave their things behind, claiming they would leave everything there until Wednesday. No, that would certainly make Remus's parents suspicious.

Once they were done packing, they headed back downstairs. Remus's parents were ready to leave as well.

"Now, boys, I expect the three of you back here Wednesday night, but no sooner!" his mother said warningly, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Of course not," James said with his most charming smile. "We quite value our lives."

Remus fidgeted a bit at this, not quite liking the fact he could possibly attack his friends while transformed. It was because of that that his friends were always in Animagus form when they kept his company. That way they could keep an eye on him and even put up a fight if he attacked them or just run away, whatever seemed best.

"Okay, mate, we'll see you Wednesday. Take care," Sirius said, clapping Remus on the shoulder. His back was turned to Remus's parents. 'See you later,' he mouthed with a wink. Remus smiled and nodded.

James and Peter said their goodbyes, too. They had decided on taking the Floo network to Diagon Alley, wander around there for a bit and then go back. The original plan had been to go back to James's and hang around there but since his parents thought they would be with Remus all week, they figured that would look suspicious.

Several minutes later, James, Sirius and Peter found themselves wandering down Diagon Alley, carrying their rucksacks on their shoulders. They had agreed to stay there for an hour, and then go back. They walked past Ollivander's, seeing a young boy being given his first wand. The boy looked absolutely terrified while holding the wand. A stack of papers started flying around, and Ollivander abruptly took the wand from the young boy's hand.

James snickered. "Ah, the good old times. I remember when I went to get my wand. I found the right one pretty quickly. You know what they say, the wand chooses the wizard, and which wand wouldn't want to be with me?"

"Come off it, Prongs! I'm sure the wand made an error," Sirius snorted.

Peter laughed but otherwise stayed quiet as the two boys started bickering. His gaze drifted along the busy street. It was busier than normal, he noticed. But the weather was good so people tended to come out and do their shopping. The sun was shining brightly and a gentle breeze was enough to make sure they weren't too warm. His gaze fell on a girl, walking alone and coming in their direction.

"Guys," Peter said, effectively cutting off the bickering, "there's Lily."

James made a kind of choking noise and seemed to be considering ducking away but kept on walking. Lily saw them and seemed to slow her pace but a confrontation was inevitable.

"Hello boys," Lily said nervously, smiling slightly.

"Lily!" Sirius exclaimed, taking her hand and pressing a kiss on it. "What a pleasure to see you here."

"Hello, Lily," Peter answered. "Say, eh, Padfoot, I er … need your help with something."

Sirius followed Peter and gave James the thumbs-up behind Lily's back.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked, blushing a bit as she looked down at the ground.

"We're going to be staying over at Remus's house and we… er… came to get some stuff. You?" James said, figuring it was best not to tell Lily they were actually waiting until Remus's parents were gone before going back. And he shouldn't mention the werewolf thing at all.

"I came to get some books to work on our summer assignments," she answered, holding up a bag, "But… er, I had better keep moving because my mother is waiting for me in Muggle London. So, I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, I'll… er… owl you or something," James said, fidgeting nervously on the spot. He mentally kicked himself. He was always so cool about everything, yet just talking to Lily made him sweat and nearly stammer.

Lily nodded and hurried off down the street. James stared after her with an expression of longing on his features. The other two boys came over again, standing on either side of him.

"Do you need a tissue or something?" Sirius asked.

"For what?" James asked confused.

"To wipe up the drool before there's a puddle here at your feet," Peter replied. Sirius nodded approvingly and high-fived the smallest of them behind James's back. Both boys snickered.

"Ha ha, very funny, guys," James deadpanned, glaring slightly at his two friends. "We better get back; don't want Moony to be locked up in the basement for too long."

"Sir, aye aye, sir!" Sirius said loudly, saluting him.

James just rolled his eyes.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Yellowwolf, xmarauderxforeverx, and Tiffany were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Twelve**

Ten minutes later, they were back at Remus's house. James went first, checking the house to make sure that Remus's parents were gone before the other two boys arrived back. They went to the basement door and found the key still in the lock.

James snorted. "That's just making it too easy." He turned the key.

Remus was waiting on the top step, glaring. "What took you guys so long? I was starting to think you weren't coming back," he said, brushing past them.

"Now would we do that to you?" Sirius asked, grinning. "Besides, we have a good reason."

Remus's eyebrow rose considerably.

Sirius continued, "We ran into none other than Lily on our aimless wander down Diagon Alley."

Remus suddenly grinned and motioned them to follow him back up to his room so they could drop off their bags. "Do tell."

"There's nothing to tell," James said irritably. He had the sinking feeling he was in for some more teasing from his three best friends and of course, he was quite right. When they reached Remus's room, James, Sirius and Peter started to unpack their stuff again (now making sure to keep it separated and more or less tidy) while Remus found the greatest pleasure in teasing James non-stop until James threw dirty boxer shorts at his head, effectively cutting off the rest of what Remus had been planning on saying.

"So what're we doing tonight?" Sirius questioned, propping his chin on his elbows and allowing his legs to swing back and forth, giving him a very feminine appearance. James snorted in suppressed laughter, glad that they'd finally moved on from teasing him.

"Padfoot, you do realize you look like quite the ponce when you do that, don't you?" he questioned, grinning a very cheshire-like smile. Dodging the pillow that Sirius threw his way in response, James settled himself down between Sirius and Peter, handing the fluffy white pillow back to his best friend.

"Well," Sirius began, straining his mind for a witty comeback. "You ARE a ponce?" he retorted pathetically, smiling thinly as he allowed his legs to collapse, resting his chin on his pillow instead.

James chuckled quietly. "That has got to be the lamest attempt at a witty comeback I have ever heard!" he taunted, biting his bottom lip as he smiled widely.

"Knock it off, you two!" Remus said from his spot on the floor before Sirius could attempt another retort. "My brain cannot possibly sustain this much nonsense in one sitting!" Sirius responded quite predictably by hitting the werewolf over the head with his freshly retrieved pillow.

"I know you love us, Moony!" he sang off-key, sitting up to place his hands over where he believed his heart to be.

"You do realize your heart is on the left, right, Padfoot?" Peter questioned, raising an eyebrow in amusement. Sirius grinned.

"Of course it is." He transferred his hands to the opposite side in one swift movement. "Just seein' if you guys were paying attention," he told them seriously, nodding his head vigorously

"Right," James drawled, nodding his head in imitation of Sirius. Peter joined in the act, nodding his head and letting it wobble side to side while he grinned at Sirius. Remus pressed his lips together for a moment, turning first pink and then red, before bursting into laughter.

"You guys look like…" he began, laughing too hard to finish his sentence.

"We look like what?" Sirius questioned, stopping his nodding briefly.

"BOBBLE HEADS!" he burst out, continuing to laugh at his friends' confused expressions.

"What in the name of Merlin's pointy hat are bobble heads?" Sirius questioned, turning to face James. James tapped his chin with an index finger in response.

"I wouldn't know. Do you know, Peter?" he questioned, facing his other friend while Remus continued to roll on the floor, lost in his laughter.

"Nope," Peter replied, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. "The word sounds familiar, but I can't place it -"

"Well, obviously Moony here knows…" James pondered, giving Remus a pointed glance. Remus stifled his laughter abruptly, not liking the look his friends were giving him. "What is a bobble head, Moony?" James asked, thumping his pillow threateningly on his knee.

"You shall never know!" Remus exclaimed bravely, eyeing the pillow James held. Sirius smirked.

"Oh, I think you'll tell us!" he said mysteriously, raising one eyebrow slightly. "I don't think you'll have a choice in the matter."

"I rather agree with Padfoot here," James added, letting the pillow come to a halt.

"I must say I agree with both Padfoot and Prongs," Peter chipped in, smirking slightly.

Remus gulped nervously, watching his friends' actions closely. "I'm not in Gryffindor for -" he began. He was cut off as both James and Sirius began to pummel him with their pillows. He held up his hands to protect himself, laughing helplessly, until the assault ended.

"That's only the beginning," Sirius warned him quietly, nodding his head once more. "We'll have to take away your chocolate if you don't cooperate."

"No!" Remus moaned in mock distress. "YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED NEAR MY CHOCOLATE!" he shouted, dodging as Sirius threw his pillow at him. "Besides, you don't know where it is!" he reminded them triumphantly. "You can't take it if you don't know -"

"Top drawer on the left, hidden beneath the green pair of socks," Peter cut him off swiftly, smiling at his friend's shocked expression.

"How did you know that?" Remus demanded, pursing his lips in a rather feminine fashion.

"Ooh, who's the ponce now?" Sirius taunted, dodging the pillow Remus threw at him. "What's with you guys and hitting me with pillows?" he exclaimed angrily, thumping the pillow into his lap.

"I dunno - you're just an easy target!" James replied, fingering the patchwork quilt on the bed.

"Anyway…" Remus began, hoping to steer the conversation away from chocolate and bobble heads. "Sirius wanted to know what we were going to do tonight. I would have thought that would be rather obvious, it being the full moon tonight and all."

"Well yeah, but are we gonna do anything before that, though?" Sirius questioned, adopting a rare thoughtful expression.

"Well, Remus here can't be seen by anyone who knows his parents or his secret – technically he's supposed to be locked in the basement -" Peter considered, resting his head between his index finger and thumb.

"And we're not supposed to be here, either," James added.

"Both are very good points," Sirius agreed, biting on his tongue slightly. "So, we're just going to have to entertain ourselves inside until the moon comes, then?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Remus agreed, stealing the pillow from Sirius's lap and resting his head on it. "We should probably take a nap at some point, though - it's going to be a long night…"

"Fine, Mum," Sirius chanted robotically, rolling his eyes. "I'll be sure to brush my teeth before my nappie poo, too."

* * *

"Hey, Moony," whispered James to the person sleeping next to him.

"Yeah, mate?" answered a muffled, sleepy voice.

The four boys had at last decided a nap was a capital idea, and were waiting for Remus to transform into a werewolf; however, Sirius and Peter were both knocked out and sleeping like bears in hibernation.

"Why doesn't Lily like me?" asked James.

Remus snorted. "Are you for real?"

"What do you mean?" James asked, feeling worried.

"Look ... there are a lot of reasons why she can't stand you. But it's up to you to find out what they are and decide whether you want to change for her or not. But, let me tell you one thing ... if you want Lily to become more than a friend, you need to change your attitude," Remus concluded.

James frowned. "Oh."

Remus grinned sleepily and said, "Don't worry about it. Just don't try to impress her so much, you know? Be yourself. Don't be so arrogant and manly around her."

"Thanks. You always know what to say."

After a couple minutes of silence, the soft glow of moonlight bled through the window, spilling onto the four boys.

James got busy, nudging Peter awake and kicking Sirius in the shin.

The other three boys turned to watch Remus, who braced himself to begin the slow and painful process of transforming into a werewolf.

"Now?" Sirius asked Remus while the other boy still retained most of his human consciousness.

"Now," Remus said somewhat breathlessly, climbing to his feet to stagger out of his room, down the hall, and out of the house.

The other three looked at each other, nodded, and within moments, had hurried to the massive back garden to join their friend.

James transformed into a stag, Sirius, a black dog, and Peter, a rat.

They quickly circled Remus, who had almost completely turned into a werewolf. His pupils transformed into piercing black dots, and his eyes became yellow. Sharp claws emerged from his fingers and toes, and his mouth sprouted sharp teeth. He no longer stood, but had all four limbs on the ground, his knuckles and feet holding him up. His body soon turned gray and hairy, and then it was over.

He sniffed the air a couple of times, before glancing around himself to take in the scenery. He noticed the other three animals. They seemed vaguely familiar, but again, they didn't.

Paying no attention to the other animals, he leapt out of the circle they'd made around him and into the woods that was close behind the back garden. In the middle was a small, open clearing, and he tilted his head up to bay at the moon.

The other three animals were close behind him.

The wolf snarled, wondering what they want. He needed blood. He wanted flesh.

He could smell human flesh, and it made his mouth water. He began to foam at the mouth.

Prongs looked at Padfoot and Wormtail. They knew what he wanted.

The stag beckoned Padfoot to take one side, and Wormtail to take the other. Prongs stood in front of the wolf.

The wolf's eyes looked deep into Prong's eyes. The stag shook his antlered head, and Moony let out a snarl.

Prongs ducked down his head, prepared to run at Moony, but when he heard the werewolf let out a cry, he looked up.

Wormtail had grabbed onto the wolf's tail, and Padfoot had leapt on top of the wolf.

Moony shook his tail, hard, and swung Wormtail away, before tossing Padfoot into the air and away from himself.

Prongs glanced at the dog and the rat and their eyes met. Fear began to set in the bottom of his stomach.

Letting out a howl, the wolf started to run back into the forest and towards the smell of human blood.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Thirteen**

In his stag form, James raced across the small clearing and into the heavily wooded forest, trying to catch up to the werewolf. Remus streaked through the patches of moonlight, his muzzle elevated as he traced his quarry. Somewhere behind him, he knew the dog was following with the rat, but he could not think of them right now.

The stag's instincts to flee the angry wolf were nearly overpowering, but James forced himself to focus on his human side. He could not let the wolf find what he was seeking. Prongs could smell them on the air as well, three distinct odors. One man and two females, one much younger than the others.

His heart pounding in his ribcage, Prongs forced his quick legs to move even faster, dodging fallen branches and rocks, splashing through muddy puddles and shallow streams. He could just make out the wolf's shaggy gray tail disappearing into an overgrowth of brush, and lowering his antlers to clear his path, Prongs charged into the thorny thicket.

The wolf had vanished, and Prongs drew up short, raising his snout and trying to scent the humans.

_There!_

As Prongs tensed and sprang, his muscles powerful and sinewy, he heard the dog give a yelp of pain behind him as he struggled through the thorns. But just then, the wolf gave a howl of excitement, and the stag charged on, determined to stop his friend from making a mistake he would regret for the rest of his life.

As the trees began to grow thinner, Prongs distinguished that his hooves were thundering on a cleared path. He inhaled again and was overpowered by the scent of humans. He was no longer sure he was heading in the right direction, but the freshest scent seemed to be coming from straight ahead, and so, shoving aside the stag's desire to shy away from humans, he rushed on.

He would not let himself think, would not let himself wonder. There would be time for that later, after he had stopped his friend. He could not think because to think would open the floodgates for the panic he was barely keeping at bay.

Remus had never acted like this before, ever, in the times that they'd left the safety of the Shrieking Shack and explored the landscape around Hogsmeade. A few times, the wolf had scented a human, and had started to pursue them, but always - _always_, they'd managed to persuade him that rough housing and playing and chasing one of them was a better idea. This time, he'd seemed like – well, he'd seemed like a werewolf.

James had never really considered Remus dangerous in the entire time that he'd known him. Certainly, he knew he was a werewolf, but even as just a young boy, he'd been more fascinated by the lycanthropy than fearful of the wolf. And he'd been determined, him and Sirius and Peter, that Remus should not be alone during the transformations that always left him a little quieter in the following days.

In the early days, Remus had just seemed so surprised and grateful for their friendship that he'd accepted it without question. Once they'd learned of his secret, and told him they knew, he'd seemed certain that they would cast him aside. Thus, he'd been shocked when they acted as though nothing was different, and honestly, to James, nothing was.

As Remus grew older, he'd seemed to realize the danger he posed, and he often shied away from his friends in the days after his transformation, acting ashamed and wallowing in pity. He'd never suspected that his friends were trying to master something powerful wizards twice their age could not accomplish, simply for him so that he would not feel so alone. When they'd revealed themselves to Remus in their animal forms, he'd been speechless, and then he cried a little, but they pretended not to notice his tears.

He was their friend, and he'd finally seemed to grasp that.

And James had no intention of letting his friend get to those humans. The wolf gave another howl, and Prongs spotted him, a gray bullet flying across a clearing ahead of him. The scent of human was thick in the air, and he heard screams of surprise and fright as the humans spotted the wolf.

Prongs dove out of the clearing just behind his friend, and pushing himself as he never had before, he charged the wolf. The humans were scattering in the clearing, the older woman becoming separated from the man and young girl, and the wolf hesitated for just a moment, clearly trying to decide which the more vulnerable prey was. In that moment of hesitation, Prongs lowered his antlers again and rammed his head against the wolf's side.

Giving a yelp of surprise, the wolf rolled lithely to its feet again, sides heaving. The female human took that moment to reunite herself with her family, and scooping up the child between them, they began to run. The wolf attempted to follow, but out of nowhere, a giant black dog with a rat clinging desperately to the shaggy fur on his back threw himself atop the wolf. The rat jumped free, squealing in fright, and moved out of the way of the larger animals.

The stag moved between the wolf and its fleeing prey, then charged in as the dog gave a high pitched yelp of pain. The wolf raised its snapping jaws at the stag, but Prongs kicked out with his heavy hooves, catching the beast squarely in the chest. It snarled in surprise as it toppled backwards, and then the black dog raced in again, this time ducking low and swiping at the wolf's back paws.

The wolf whirled, panting, and then spun back on the stag. Distantly, Prongs heard a car engine roar to life, and he gave a shuddering sigh of relief. The wolf gave a piteous howl.

The black dog – Sirius, James reminded himself – flopped onto its stomach, panting heavily, and the wolf slowly began to circle the clearing, sniffing the discarded camping implements. The wolf – Remus – gave a short bark, and then set to work on shredding one of the tents. Trying to regain his breath, James let him. He looked around for the rat – for Peter – and spotted him huddled under a bush that hugged the ground. Not for the first time, James wished that Peter had managed a slightly larger animagus form.

He let his head hang. Wormtail's rat form had come in very handy, he had to admit, in the past, and now was not the time to hold his diminutive size against him. The wolf emerged from the ruins of the tent carrying a teddy bear, all thoughts of bloodlust apparently gone from his mind, and he shook his head violently side to side, causing the stuffed animal to flop uselessly in his jaw. Padfoot raised his great shaggy head and bounded to his feet, apparently sensing as Prongs did, that playtime had at last begun. He nipped at the wolf lightly, causing him to drop the stuffed toy, and he grabbed it up in his mouth, running back into the trees. Barking playfully, the werewolf followed behind.

Feeling his legs start to tremble as the human inside him began to fully comprehend what had almost happened, he tottered over to where Wormtail had emerged from his shelter, and ducked his head. The rat climbed onto his antlers, and still feeling his heart thundering against his ribs, Prongs cantered back into the woods, following the sounds of the playing canines.

* * *

As the moon sank from the sky, the werewolf's movements grew more sluggish, until at last, he flopped to the ground in the shadows of the woods behind a familiar house. The dog curled up next to him, pushing his snout under the wolf's paw and licking at his face. The rat jumped down from the stag's antlers, and the wolf sniffed at him languidly, deciding as always that the rat would not make a substantial meal. 

The stag seemed oddly agitated tonight, the wolf noted. He'd stayed back from the playing instead of joining in as he always had in the past. Even now, he paced back and forth just within the shadowy reach of the trees. The wolf didn't quite understand why, but everything was a little hazy for him. It always was this time of night, but he didn't mind it; if anything, it was somewhat pleasant, the warm, fuzzy feeling that clouded his brain. Already, he could not remember anything before coming to rest on the ground here, and he felt sleepy.

Cracking his massive jaws for a yawn, the wolf rolled onto his back. He looked at the moon sinking on the horizon – Remus blinked – and saw it was just a sliver, barely there, and then it was gone – the sky grew darker suddenly, and Remus felt blinded – the dog eased away from him and he felt bereft of his companion's presence.

The first ripple of pain shot up his spine and settled in his stomach, and he curled around himself, whining. His skin began to feel like thousands of bugs were crawling across it, and he rolled around, trying to relieve the painful itching. Another jolt of pain coursed through his limbs, and a blinding fire ripped into his paws. He howled, unable to find a position that would relieve his pain. Panting, he rolled onto his stomach again, the sensation of shrinking and growing and bending and breaking wracking his body. He arched his back and howled again, but the howl gave way to a cry of pain, and Remus was aware.

He was coming back! He'd survived another night, now if only he could withstand the transformation back to man. The wolf did not want to let go, but Remus fought against him, picturing the wolf in a cage. His hips realigned and he shook with a spasm of pain.

"James!" he cried out, and instantly, his friends were there. James reached out and put a soothing hand on the top of his head, and Remus wanted to shudder. He did not want James to have to touch the wolf, but the wolf was almost gone. With one last rending scream of pain, Remus collapsed on his stomach, his face in the dirt as he panted. He felt the hands of his friends on his human flesh as they lifted him and carried him back towards the house, and then he knew nothing.

After he and Sirius dressed Remus and tucked him into his soft bed, James ushered his friends back out into the hallway. "Let's go heal ourselves," he said quietly. He put an arm around Sirius, and the three of them made their way slowly to the spare bedroom. Once they finished washing their wounds and tending their bruises and imbibing their healing potions, James finally made himself look up.

"He can never know about what happened last night," he said. Sirius and Peter nodded.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus, Captain J. Black, and Rainangel03 were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Fourteen  
**

James jerked awake, feeling an uncomfortable weight on his chest. Sirius was half on top of him, snoring heavily, and Peter was stretched out across the bed at his feet, twitching slightly with some dream.

He glanced at the clock and saw that it was well after noon. He sat up abruptly, causing Sirius to roll off him without waking. Remus was still asleep in the other bed, his face looking worn and ill.

Something important nagged at him in the back of his mind, but he was too tired to remember what it was. All he knew was he was insatiably hungry, and rather sore from his race through the woods.

Yawning, he stretched and nudged Sirius roughly. Sirius mumbled incoherently and shifted onto his side. James nudged him again, somewhat harder, and Sirius groaned wordlessly. Then he rolled onto his back and glared at James through one squinted eye.

"What?" he growled.

James kicked at Peter lightly, and the smaller boy jumped awake at once, looking startled.

"Are you guys hungry?" James asked.

He'd said the magic words. Sirius was awake at once, on his feet, and tugging Peter up as well. "Yeah, let's go find something to eat," he whispered, shooting a glance at Remus, who hadn't stirred once.

They went down to the kitchen, and had just started going through the supply of food when they heard the lock click in the door. They all froze and looked at the door as it swung open and Mrs. Lupin stepped in, looking startled to see them.

All at once, James remembered the important thing he'd forgotten. They weren't supposed to be there, at least, not yet.

"Boys, what are you doing here?" Remus's mother asked the boys, still looking surprised.

"Searching for food," James offered quickly, not daring to look at his friends.

"No, I meant, what are you doing in my house," she said, laughing at James.

James opened his mouth, a half-formed excuse in mind, but Sirius beat him to the punch. "Sorry Mrs. L, our dad had to bring us over on the way to work," Sirius answered with his most charming smile. Mrs. Lupin smiled indulgently at him, clearly won over.

"Yeah, so he brought us over and noticed you weren't home, and Remus didn't answer when we knocked on the door, so we told him that Remus sleeps like the dead and the only way to wake him was to hit him with pillows repeatedly," James added in explanation.

"So their dad let us in and we said bye to him, waited for him to leave, and then we went upstairs to wake up Remus. He didn't like that too much," Peter finished innocently.

"Oh!" she exclaimed laughing. "Well, if you boys are hungry, I can have lunch ready in a little while. I have something to do before I prepare it."

She went up the stairs, bag floating behind her. The boys heard her open the door to Remus's room for a moment before she entered her bedroom and shut the door.

"That was close," Peter breathed out, leaning against the counter.

James agreed with him, feeling only a little ashamed at how easy it was to lie to nice Mrs. Lupin.

"Right then, what now?" Sirius asked after a long moment of silence.

"Let's go sit in Moony's room and wait for food," James suggested. The boys wandered back up the stairs and into Remus's room. When they walked in, they saw Remus was still asleep, and still looked just as pale, weak, and fragile as he had before.

* * *

"Hey, guys, I've been doing some thinking," Remus said the next day.

"Uh oh, this can't be good," James said, grinning.

"You're right," Sirius agreed solemnly. "Remember the last time he got to thinking?"

"Yeah, I don't think I will ever be the same," Peter said, laughing.

Remus glared at his friends until James motioned him to continue. "I was thinking that we could make a map of Hogwarts," Remus said touchily.

"Why on earth would we need a map of Hogwarts? We already know our way around it like the back of our hands," Sirius said with a frown.

"Not a normal map, one that moves and shows where everybody in the castle is," Remus said exasperatedly.

"Oh, hey… that _would_ come in handy," James said.

"Oh, you think so?" Remus shot back.

"Well, isn't someone touchy today," Sirius grinned.

Remus narrowed his eyes at the other three boys. "Well, if you don't want me to explain my idea, that is all you had to say," he sniffed.

"I think is sounds like a good idea," Peter said quietly from the corner. "We'd know where the professors were so we wouldn't get caught as often."

"Yeah," Sirius said, warming to the idea. "The four of us don't fit under that cloak very well anymore. I'd prefer not to serve any more detentions with McGonagall than I have to."

"Peter," Remus said suddenly, his voice wary. "What are you eating?"

"N-nothing," said Peter, swallowing. Remus sniffed the air and then glared at Peter.

"Did I, or did I not, say to keep away from my CHOCOLATE!" Remus exclaimed, enraged.

"You didn't," Peter said with a weak smile.

Several things happened at once; Sirius dove for Remus, who dove for Peter, who had turned into a rat and ran towards James, who picked him up and shoved him into his pocket, then sprinted out of the room. The rest of the day was spent thus, Remus chasing James, who had the transformed Peter Pettigrew in his shirt pocket, and Sirius chasing Remus, trying to keep him from the other two boys.

* * *

That night, when all four boys were in Remus's room, pretending to be asleep, James remembered what they'd been talking about that morning, before the grand chase had begun.

"Okay, so about this map idea you had this morning," James started.

"Yeah, that really was a good idea," Peter added, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Care to elaborate, mate?" Sirius asked, turning on his side to look at his friend.

"Oh! So, now everyone is all interested in my idea," Remus said in an annoyed voice.

"We were interested to begin with, but _you_ got side tracked," Peter pointed out.

"Only because YOU ate all of my CHOCOLATE!" roared Remus.

"I was hungry!" protested Peter, holding up his hands in surrender.

"So you had to eat MY CHOCOLATE?"

"Calm down, calm down!" James rolled his eyes. "Enough about your bloody chocolate; what about the idea?"

"Oh… yeah." Remus nodded and continued, "Like I was saying, it's a map of Hogwarts that would show us everything – all the students and professors, where they were at, and all the secret passageways we've found and how to get through." He smiled sagely.

"Ohh…"

Sirius, James, and Peter exchanged a look and Sirius said eagerly, "I like this idea. I love this idea. If this idea were visible, I would hug it."

"…You're a little sleep-deprived, aren't you?" noted James as he, Remus, and Peter cast curious looks at Sirius.

"Only a little. Carry on."

Peter sighed. "Question. How're we going to make it?" he inquired.

Remus pondered the question for a moment, but before he could answer, James held up his pointer finger and declared, "By MAGIC!"

There was a short period of silence.

"You know, that sounded a lot funnier in my head," James sighed.

"Of course it did. Now, if we could _please_ get to the point…" Remus paused, waiting for someone to interrupt him, but when no one did, he continued, "I think we can start with just regular parchment. Of course, since we're covering the entirety of Hogwarts, we'll need a lot of parchment, plus we'll need some kind of potion to make it work properly-"

"Alright, Alright, stop talking," interrupted Sirius, earning an irritated glower from Remus. "So basically, we need parchment and potion."

"…Yes."

"Honestly, Moony, it is _so hard_ to get to the point with you!" laughed James tiredly.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Well I c_ould_ have gotten there _sooner_ if a certain three _friends_ of mine had stopped _interrupting_…" He looked pointedly at the other guys.

"Who're you talking about?" asked Peter innocently.

Remus harrumphed. "You know what? I give up on you three."

"Ah… but you still love us, Moony…" yawned Sirius, stretching out and flopping onto the floor. "Ow."

The other boys looked at Sirius's awkward position on the floor and laughed. "Alright…" James said once he'd calmed down. "We'll go over the details in the morning?"

"Yeah…" Peter nodded sleepily.

Sirius sat up and grinned. "So, who else thinks we should make the map insult people, too?"

* * *

The four boys decided to go to Diagon Alley the next day and get the supplies they needed. Sirius insisted on finding out which Charm or potion would make the map insult other people (besides them) who tried to figure out what exactly the map was.

James was rather excited about this too. "Ooh, and it can have a PASSWORD! Or better yet, a pass-PHRASE!"

But Remus simply shook his head and told his overly excited friends, "We can get to that later. We need to get the potion that will let us create the map firstly."

"Yeah, I s'pose you're right…" mumbled James.

"As usual…" threw in Peter.

Sirius sighed expectedly. "So where to?" he asked, looking to Remus.

Remus answered in no special sort of way, "The Apothecary."

Sirius and James grinned at each other. "TO THE APOTHECARY!" proclaimed James, pointing his finger in the air.

"TALLY-HOE!" shouted Sirius, and Peter provided them with the sound of a galloping horse by clapping his hands together, creating a hollow space between them, and he followed after as Sirius and James ran off on their imaginary horses.

Remus rolled his eyes.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Yellowwolf and Tiffany were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

They reached the Apothecary fairly quickly. They were about to enter when Remus stopped them. "Do we actually know which potion we have to make?

"No, but we can ask in there," James said just as he was about to push open the door. He froze suddenly, staring at someone inside. All at once, they all recognized the greasy haired boy standing behind the counter. A cruel smile formed on James's lips. He was about to push the door open, but Remus stopped him.

"James, think about it," he hissed. "If we ask him which potion we need, he'll assume we're up to something, and no one can know about this!"

"Right, wouldn't want Snivellus to mess up our plans," James grinned as he cast another glance inside. Snape didn't seem to have noticed them yet. He snickered and turned back to his friends. "Where to, then?"

"The library. They have the biggest collection of books on Potions; there must be something there," Peter suggested.

"The library at Hogwarts would be better," Sirius huffed, but it was still nearly two months before they were to go back and he didn't want to wait that long to put their plan in motion. Obviously, they could only start the real work at Hogwarts, but it most likely took some time to brew the potion and get it right, so they needed to do some testing before starting the actual work.

"I know, but Diagon Alley's library will have to do," Remus said as he led the way to the large library which was near Gringott's bank. They entered the magical library and looked around, awed. It had four floors, filled with books about anything and everything, even books on Dark Magic, though there was a registry one had to complete before entering the section, which was guarded by two bored looking Aurors.

The boys headed over to the information desk where a tired looking witch was reading a book called 'Transfigurations: Biggest Errors'. On the front was a wizard, who for some reason had wanted to transform himself into a pig, and had ended up with the tail, snout, and rather pink skin. It was a funny, yet ridiculous, sight.

"Hello, where can we find books on potions?" Remus asked.

"Third floor, aisles three and four," the witch said in a monotone voice without taking her eyes off the book. Remus thanked her.

They found the aisle without any trouble. The sign with 'Potions' was hard to miss. James heaved a sigh; there had to be over two thousand books. This was going to take them forever.

"Bloody woman should've come with us," Sirius muttered, looking at the books with an expression of utter despair on his face.

"Well, I don't think even she knows what book we would need," Remus said with a sigh. "Alright, Sirius and Peter, you do either side of aisle three and James and I will do either side of aisle four. Remember, we need a potion that will make ink invisible and will only make it visible by some sort of sign or spell."

The other three boys nodded and they uickly got to work, at first pulling out books at random and flipping through them before they started paying attention to the titles. The situation seemed hopeless.

"Guys, I may have something we could use," Sirius called. Remus held on to his book and went to join Sirius.

"Listen to this: '_The Everlasting Vanishing Potion. As this name suggests, what you wish to vanish will not vanish forever. The name merely suggests that the potion will last forever. This potion is mostly used to cause words written on parchment to disappear, leaving a blank paper. By the use of a spell, the Tesserius charm (incantation: Tessera), you can set a password that will make the words become visible. At the same time, you will set a word that makes the parchment blank again. You will only be able to set this once, so think carefully'_," Sirius read before looking down at the list the ingredients.

"That's exactly what we need!" James said excitedly.

"It is!" Remus agreed, his eyes lighting up with newfound excitement. Remus grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from the table and started copying everything.

"And what about this: Photograph Developing Potion. 'T_his potion enables photographs to be developed so that the people move in the frame. It almost seems as if they exist within the frame._' We could use this to have little moving dots to indicate students and teachers."

"I think that will have to be modified, though, possibly enhanced with a spell so that it's possible to see which person is where," Remus said, raising an eyebrow in thought.

"Yeah, good point," James concurred. "Let's just get enough ingredients to make both potions and then we can figure out how to modify the last potion."

After making sure they copied down everything they needed, they put away the books and headed back to the Apothecary. Remus had written the ingredients at the bottom of the parchment and ripped it off so Snape couldn't see which potion they intended on making.

"Good day, Snivellus," James said with a malicious glint in his eyes as he entered the Apothecary. Snape looked up, startled and glared coldly.

"Potter," he acknowledged coolly.

"Why are you working here?" Remus asked, mildly interested.

"Not that it's any of your business," Snape sneered, "but I, unlike you lot, am helping out to pay for the upcoming year at Hogwarts."

"Oh, what's the matter, family not rich enough to pay for your studies?" Sirius asked, leaning on the counter and smirking at Snape.

"Well, at least I still have a family, unlike you," Snape said, smirking.

"What do you mean by that?" James asked coolly.

Snape looked surprisingly happy at the prospect of sharing something with them which was no doubt not good. "Well…" he drawled, smiling and enjoying the look of confusion and fear on Sirius's face. "I heard from a rather reliable source that your family is planning on disowning you, Black. I can't believe they'd only do it now, after all this time. I would've done it the moment I found out you were in Gryffindor."

Sirius reached for his wand, no doubt intent on hexing Snape, but Remus swiftly took the wand away while James smartly pulled Sirius back from the counter before he actually jumped over it and beat the living daylights out of Snape.

Snape seemed to have enjoyed spreading that bit of news, and all four boys very much felt like hexing him, but James, Peter and Remus managed to restrain themselves in order to restrain Sirius.

Remus grabbed the list of ingredients and threw it on the counter. "Stop sticking your long nose in where it doesn't belong and get us this stuff, why don't you? Make yourself actually useful for once," he sneered in a fair imitation of Snape. Remus, usually the calmest person of their group, looked practically livid. Sirius was one of his best friends and he didn't like his best friends treated like that.

"Of course," Snape replied, smirking as he grabbed the list and went in search of their ingredients.

"Try to stay calm, Sirius," Remus said glancing over and seeing Sirius seething in anger.

"I'm going that make that git's life miserable, even if it's the last thing I do," he said, fuming. He had known they were going to disown him eventually, and he pretty much didn't care about that particular fact. He just hated the fact that Snape was gloating over this.

"When we have the map, we'll be able to," James replied with a glint of malice in his eyes. That map would be perfect, they'd know where Snape was at every moment of the day. What more did they need to set up a trap?

Snape returned with the ingredients and they looked at them skeptically.

Snape snickered. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm not going to poison you and risk losing my job."

They paid for the ingredients, albeit reluctantly, and left the shop. As they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, Sirius continued to fume, muttering under his breath about what he would like to do to that 'Greasy haired git and his crooked, long nose.'


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Tiffany and Pennilyn Novus were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

**Chapter Sixteen**

"So now what?" asked Sirius once the four boys had returned to Remus's house.

"We brew the potions," said James, rolling his eyes.

"Should we brew the potions here?" asked Remus, looking around his room a bit worriedly.

"Well, your mum and dad aren't likely to check into your room much. Besides, they're gone for the day, and won't be back til way later tonight, right?" said James.

"Yeah, and the potions don't take that long to make. I think it'll be fine to brew it here," added Peter.

Remus nodded, feeling a bit uncertain.

"Why don't we clean up the room first?" he suggested, taking in his very messy room.

The other three boys frowned, "Aw, I hate cleaning!"

Remus looked at them sternly, "You don't want items falling into the potions by mistake! We have to have a clean room."

About half an hour later, the room was clean and spotless.

"Okay, let's start brewing the Everlasting Vanishing Potion first. We'll brew the Photograph Developing Potion after," said James.

"Wouldn't it be a lot faster if we brewed them at the same time?" whined Sirius.

"We could ... but none of us are exceptionally brilliant at Potions. It'll be a lot safer to brew it together. After all, four heads are better than one," said Remus.

"How about if we ask Lily to help us?" suggested James.

Peter snorted, "This is _our_ secret. And besides, she probably wouldn't approve of it."

James eyes flashed dangerously. "What are you saying?"

Sirius calmed James down by saying, "Peter does have a point. It'll be best if we keep this a secret between us four only."

James nodded his head reluctantly. "Fine."

Remus had already set up his cauldron, and was putting things into the bubbling pot.

He began to call out ingredients, and the other three would fetch them.

"Two doxy eggs," he said.

James threw them into Remus's hand.

"Wolfsbane."

"Fluxweed."

About an hour later, the potion was ready.

"Stir it for about three minutes," said Peter to James.

"Yeah, and then we'll have to bottle it up," said Remus, who was getting ready to make the second potion.

"Okay, Sirius, I'll need some of your help..."

Within two hours, both potions were ready and bottled up.

"That sure was exhausting! It was like Hogwarts ... but without the professor..." said Sirius, getting up to stretch.

"I'm hungry," said Peter.

"Yeah, me too..." agreed James.

"Why don't we go downstairs and grab a bite to eat, before finishing up our map?" suggested Remus.

The four boys headed downstairs, laughing and giving each other high-fives.

After settling down with tuna sandwiches and some Butterbeer, Sirius spoke up.

"Hey, we're going to need a name for our map!"

The other three boys nodded, "Yeah, that's true..."

"How about, 'Map of Hogwarts'?" asked Peter.

James gave Peter a smack in the head. "Psh, that's lame."

"Secret Hiding Places?" asked Peter.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "I know! 'The Best Make-out Places'. That has a nice ring to it."

"Definitely not," said Remus.

"The Marauder's Map!" exclaimed James suddenly.

"Hey, that's not bad!" said Sirius.

"Okay, the Marauder's Map it is."

The four boys climbed back upstairs to start their project. A blank parchment sat in front of them. The two bottles of potions were on top of the dresser.

"So, what do we do?" asked Peter.

"Why don't we start with the 'Tessera' charm first?" James said.

The other three boys nodded.

"We're going to need to think of two passwords."

"Since what we're doing isn't exactly 'good', why don't we use 'I Solemnly Swear That I am Up to No Good," said Remus.

"Yeah, and we can say 'Mischief Managed' to make the parchment blank," suggested Sirius.

The four boys grinned.

"Let's get this done!" whooped Sirius.

James took a deep breath and looked at his friends. All four boys leaned forward, their eyes fixed on the blank parchment. "Here goes!" James said. His face split with a nervous grin and he raised his wand.

Then he stopped, and his face fell.

"What's wrong, Prongs?" Sirius asked, looking anxious.

"I'm underage. I can't do the charm." James let his wand fall to his side. "None of us can."

All four boys sat back, each wearing identical crestfallen looks.

"Do you really think you'd get in trouble for doing two measley little Charms?" Sirius asked, his face glum.

"I've already gotten in trouble once this summer. I can't do it again," James sighed.

"Well, I'll do it, then," Sirius replied, searching around for his wand.

"You can't, or our parents will know we're up to something," James reminded him. "Jamie Remington is on top of her job over there at the Improper Use of Magic office."

Sirius deflated, slumping back. All four boys sat in silence, staring at the offending piece of parchment. Remus was the first to recover.

"Well, we'll just have to wait until we get back to Hogwarts to do the Charm," Remus told them, fetching the Everlasting Vanishing potion from the top of the dresser. He returned to where the others sat clustered around the blank parchment. "We'll just have to be careful not to let this out of our sights until then."

"Right," Sirius said, his eyes lighting up again. "Right! Remus, old chap, you're brilliant."

Remus smiled, pleased with the compliment, and picked up the parchment. "I'm afraid this part is rather dull," he explained. "We have to let all the potion soak into the parchment before we can do anything else."

Sirius looked perturbed again. "This mischief thing requires more patience than I have at the moment," he pouted, watching as Remus folded the large piece of parchment and placed it in a shallow bowl.

Remus held out the potion to him. "You do the honors, then," he said, looking to James and Peter, who nodded their approval.

Sirius took the bottle and uncorked it. Then he paused and glanced at Remus. "I just… pour it over?" he asked, looking uncertain.

"We could strip off our clothes and do a naked dance around it if you want more ceremony," Remus replied calmly, making ready to pull off his shirt.

Sirius winced and stuck out his tongue. "No need to be smart, Moony. I was just asking!" Without further ado, he tipped the bottle and let the thick indigo potion pour slowly onto the parchment.

When he had finished emptying the bottle, the parchment was half submerged. For a moment, nothing happened, but then there was a faint hiss. Almost as once, there was a great sucking noise, and purple smoke rose from the bowl. The contents of the bowl belched loudly, and Peter snickered into his hand.

"Oh, grow up," James told him, unsuccessfully trying to mask his smile.

After the smoke cleared, Remus peered into the bowl warily. The soggy parchment lay at the bottom of the empty bowl, puckered and wilted looking.

"Once it dries, we ought to be able to apply the Photograph Developing potion," he told them.

"So what do we do until then?" Sirius asked.

"Honestly, Padfoot, do we need to continuously entertain you?" Remus asked the other boy, who narrowed one eye in response.

"Boys! We're home!"

Four heads shot up in alarm, and Remus quickly turned to look at his door, which they'd left open.

"They're home early!" Peter exclaimed quietly.

Remus turned to look around his room, which was cluttered with their potion making kits and leftover ingredients, and smelled like a mixture of cabbage and ink.

"Boys?" Remus heard his mother call again. "Are you here?"

"We'll be right down!" Remus called back, jumping to his feet and sweeping an armful of ingredients into his cauldron before stashing it under his bed. The other boys followed his lead and scrambled to pack up their potion kits.

"Are you boys doing something you shouldn't be?"

"No, Mum, we're just putting away our books!" Remus called, and then he winced. That would sound fishy; four teenaged boys home alone, studying.

Apparently, his mother wasn't buying it either, because she started up the stairs.

"The closet! The closet, quick!" Remus hissed, grabbing the bowl from the floor and passing it to Peter, who turned and gave it to James, who passed it to Sirius, who stared at it a moment and handed it back to Remus. "Put it in the closet!" he instructed, putting his potion scales into his trunk.

Sirius crossed the room in two strides, holding the bowl at arms length. Remus yanked open the closet door and Sirius deposited the bowl on the top shelf.

"It smells in here!" James said in an undertone, yanking open the window and trying to fan in fresh air.

Peter dove for Remus's trunk and pulled out an assortment of textbooks, which he flung open and spread across the bed.

All four boys rushed to the bed and picked up a book just as Remus's mother stepped into the doorway.

"What is that smell?" she asked, waving her hand in front of her face and coughing slightly.

"Peter's got bad gas!" Sirius blurted out.

Peter turned bright red and studied the book in his hand with forced interest.

"Oh," Remus's mum said in a small voice. "I'm sorry that I mentioned it, Peter."

"It's alright," Peter muttered, turning his head slightly to shoot a death glare at Sirius, who continued to gaze at Remus's mother with an angelic expression upon his face.

"What are you boys studying?" she asked brightly, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Charms!" James announced.

"Transfiguration!" Sirius said at the same time.

"Potions!" Peter blurted, tensing as soon as he'd said it.

Remus's mother turned a suspicious eye on her son, who lied smoothly, "We were quizzing each other on Charms, but we got hung up on something, so we switched to Transfiguration, and we saw a mention of a potion Slughorn mentioned we'd be studying this year, so we started going through my Potions book."

"Ah," she said, not looking entirely convinced. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you boys were getting up to some sort of mischief."

"Mrs. L!" Sirius said, recovered from his slipup. "Have a little faith!"

She laughed at that, then pulled out her wand and dispelled the noxious odor that hung in the air. "Sorry, Peter," she said again, turning slightly pink. She turned to Remus. "Why don't you boys come down and have tea when you've finished cleaning up your books?"

"Yes, Mum," Remus said, smiling winningly at her. She headed back down the stairs, and the boys all stood, immobilized, for a long moment. Then Peter threw the book he was holding at Sirius.

"Bad gas?" he hissed, grabbing another book and chucking it at Sirius.

Laughing, Sirius deflected the books. "Stopped her from asking questions, though, didn't it?" he asked, dodging another book.

"That was too close," Remus said, sighing. "And I hate lying to my Mum."

"Agreed," James said, dropping the Transfiguration book he was holding into Remus's trunk. "We'll have to find someplace else to finish this project."

Then, without a word, all four boys headed downstairs for tea.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

A few days later found James and Sirius back at home. They'd departed Remus's house the morning after their close call, promising to stay in contact while they tried to locate some place to continue their work on the map. After the excitement of Remus's transformation, James was actually quite glad to be home, where nothing terribly exciting happened.

Except this morning, it seemed. A loud shouting was coming from Sirius's room, and James rushed in, alarmed. Sirius sat at his desk, a howler in front of him.

The howler was just getting started, it seemed. Mrs. Black's voice echoed throughout the room.

"…_you insolent whelp! You dishonor the most noble house of Black by consorting with those Muggle loving miserable excuses for wizards. Filth! Vile scum! I'm sorry you were ever born! Had I known you would turn out to be such a disappointment, I would have smothered you in your crib!"_

Sirius turned in his seat, noticing James standing there, and smiled weakly as his mother's voice continued to rant and rave.

"…_that you are no longer welcome in our house, and you have been removed from our most pure family tree. You ungrateful brat! You are no longer a Black and you are no longer a part of our family. You are not my son. I would never have a Mudblood lover for a son. And Regulus is no longer your brother. Stay away from him."_

With a final diatribe of insults, Mrs. Black's voice faded and the howler burst into flames, spreading ash and soot all over the desk. He stared at the pile of smoldering embers for a long moment, then gave the waiting owl a treat and sent it on its way.

James wasn't quite sure what to say. He felt like he'd just intruded on a very personal moment. Sirius swept the pile of ashes into his rubbish bin and turned to regard James again, a defensive expression on his face.

"What's your problem?" he asked, his voice sounding strained.

James opened his mouth, still not sure what to say. He wanted to tell Sirius not to worry, that he was a Potter now, that he was loved and welcome where he was, and that he was his brother now, but somehow, he didn't think that would be quite enough. Sirius continued to stare at him.

"Well?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms in front of himself.

At last, James ventured, "Bad gas?"

Sirius's mouth fell open, and then he threw his head back and roared with laughter. He crossed the room and clapped James on the back, and then threw his arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

Sirius's frame shook with laughter as he hugged James, but then the laughter died and the shaking remained. James tightened his grip on his best mate, and stayed silent as Sirius cried into his shoulder.

* * *

Sirius never brought up the howler, nor did James, but in the weeks afterward, Sirius took to spending long amounts of time in his bedroom, leaving James wandering around the house, somewhat lost and rather bored. Sirius refused to tell him what he was doing in his bedroom, and James was growing increasingly frustrated.

"It's a surprise, Prongs," was all Sirius would tell him.

There were even a few instances where James would swear that Sirius had left the house, going who knows where. With careful questioning, James managed to discover that Sirius was not going to see Remus or Peter when he left the house, and James dared not ask anyone else for fear of raising suspicions.

One evening at dinner, James decided to test another suspicion. "So, Sirius," he said casually.

At once on guard, Sirius looked up from his laden plate, looking at James warily. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Have you heard from Katrina lately?"

"Oh yes!" Carolyn chimed in, putting down her fork. "Violet was wondering if you'd stayed in contact."

Sirius glared at James for a quick moment before flashing a dazzling smile at Carolyn. "We've been writing to each other when we can, but as you know, Mum, she's on that trip with her family in Egypt, so we've only managed one or two owls."

Stumped, James sat back in his chair.

"How about you and Lily?" Sirius shot back, a wicked smile quivering at the corner of his mouth.

"She was such a lovely girl," Carolyn said.

James sent a pleading glance at his father, who remained pointedly silent.

"We're writing each other," James said lamely. His mother beamed at him.

"That's wonderful. I'm so glad you both made friends with such lovely young women."

James did not miss the smirk that Sirius sent him, and he kicked him under the table. Sirius jumped slightly, but his smirk remained.

Later, James tried a different tactic.

"Come on, Padfoot, I could help, whatever it is," he begged.

"It's a surprise, Prongs. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Sirius answered, digging into his school trunk and pulling out his Potion book.

"I know you're leaving the house!" James said.

Sirius emerged from his trunk with a roll of parchment and rolled his eyes. "You're as bad as Regulus," he said. Then he pressed his lips together and looked away quickly. He stretched out on his bed and opened his book, still without meeting James's searching gaze.

"What are you doing?" James asked directly.

"I'm starting to work on that essay Slughorn set us," Sirius replied absently.

"Sirius – "

"Just… leave it, please," Sirius said.

Still frustrated and determined to get answers, James went back to his room and flopped down on his bed. He'd just have to try something different.

* * *

The next morning, after breakfast, James followed Sirius up the stairs to their rooms.

"How far did you get on Slughorn's essay?" James asked before Sirius went into his room.

"Managed about a foot last night. Think I'll go work on it some more," he answered, ducking into his room.

James followed suit, but instead of working on his essay, he fetched his Invisibility Cloak from his trunk, slipped it over his head, and went back into the hallway to wait.

He'd nearly dozed off when Sirius emerged from his room again. Looking carefully at James's door, Sirius crept down the hallway and descended the stairs. James followed silently, his heart racing in his chest.

Without pausing, Sirius swept out of the house and walked briskly through the front gardens, staying close to the tree line. He reached the long, curved drive and quickened his pace until he rounded the bend and was no longer in view of the house. He slowed, glancing around, then continued down the drive to the slightly dusty, disused road. There, he stuck out his wand.

Moments later, the Knight Bus appeared and the conductor, an elderly chap with more hair in his ears than on his head, called his greeting to Sirius.

"Same place again today, young sir?"

"Of course, Mr. Bushnell," Sirius answered politely, depositing a handful of sickles into the conductor's wrinkled hand.

"Seat's waiting for you, there's a good lad," the conductor said, stepping back to let Sirius board. James rushed on after him, just before the door slid shut. Sirius sat in an empty seat halfway back on the left, and James followed after him, holding onto the seatbacks as the bus rocketed forward. The bus was relatively empty, but James didn't want to risk being sat on by anyone, so he remained standing at the back of the bus, next to a green haired witch who looked as though she didn't feel very well.

James wasn't sure if he was impressed that Sirius was bold enough to repeatedly sneak away, upset that he was endangering himself by going off alone with the world being as uncertain as it was at the moment, or angry that he hadn't included James in his rule breaking. He was rather anxious to see where Sirius was repeatedly sneaking off to, though, and so he kept a sharp eye on his friend, who looked out the window or chatted with the conductor.

James was surprised when the bus stopped on a Muggle street and Sirius stood. James hurried forward, tripping over the green haired witch's bag. He mumbled his apology, which drew a startled stare from the witch, and followed Sirius off the bus.

Sirius paused a moment, watching the bus zoom away, and then began to walk up the street. James looked around, trying to place why everything looked so familiar, and nearly missed when Sirius turned and started up the walk of one of the houses. Before James could fully comprehend where he was, the front door to the house opened and Lily Evans emerged, closing the door quietly behind her.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

James froze, a feeling of betrayal, hurt, and shock coursing through him. Sirius – and _Lily?_

"I can't be gone for long," Lily was saying to Sirius. "Petunia has been getting suspicious."

"So has James," Sirius answered, falling in step next to Lily as they walked back toward the street. At the last moment, James stepped to the side before Lily collided with him. He caught a whiff of her perfume and felt his knees go weak.

Sirius and Lily?

James decided he was going to kill Sirius, first chance he got.

He turned and followed them, feeling his blood boiling in his veins. He was tempted to rip off his cloak and demand to know what Sirius thought he was doing, but decided he'd rather stay hidden. He'd wait until Lily was gone before he killed Sirius.

He stayed as close as he dared, trying to listen to their conversation, but Lily was talking about Petunia's boyfriend, Vernon, and how rude he was, and James had a hard time caring about that at the moment.

At last, they reached a park, and Lily and Sirius made a bee-line for the swings.

_If he pushes her on the swings, I'll kill him twice, for good measure,_ James decided, feeling uncomfortably warm under his cloak.

Instead, they sat next to each other on two swings, and gently swung back and forth in the breeze. For a long moment, they didn't say anything, and then Sirius said, "I really appreciate you talking to me like this, Lily."

Lily smiled but didn't say anything.

"James tries to understand, but his family loves him. He doesn't know what it's like."

"I know," Lily sighed, leaning back and pushing the swing higher. "But it's only my sister and her boyfriend, not my whole family."

"Still," Sirius said, his face looking painfully vulnerable. "You know what it feels like…"

"When someone who should love you hates you? Yeah," Lily answered.

Feeling like he'd been punched in the gut, James leaned against a nearby tree, feeling ashamed of himself. Sirius wasn't sneaking here to steal James's girl, he was coming to talk to a friend who understood his pain.

"James is a good guy, though," Sirius said, matching his swings with Lily's. "He accepted me like a brother, sharing his family and his house and everything."

Lily didn't say anything for a long moment. Then she turned her head to look at Sirius. "I can't believe he never told any of you about my sister."

"I told you," Sirius said, pushing his swing higher. "He told us about coming to see you, but all he said about your sister was that she'd been upset by the prank he pulled. When you wrote me in your letter was the first I heard of it."

"I know…" Lily said, her hair fanning out around her like a wispy curtain.

"James may like to fool around and joke, but he's a great friend. I don't know what…" Sirius trailed off, looking embarrassed.

Lily smiled wistfully and drug her feet on the ground, halting her momentum. "I wish I knew that side of James Potter," she said. "He sounds like a completely different person when you talk about him."

James didn't hear Sirius's response, because at that moment, he'd spotted another watcher lurking in the shadows of a large tree. He'd recognize that slumped posture and beaklike nose anywhere. It was Snape.

Sirius and Lily didn't notice him, and James, now too alert to worry about what they might be saying, crept closer to Snape. The other boy remained in the shadows, his glittering black eyes never leaving the duo on the swings. His greasy hair partially obscured his face, but then he pushed it behind his ear and James was confused and alarmed by the look on Snape's face.

It was no secret that Lily and Snape had been friends, best friends, even. Things had seemed to change between them last year, though, and James often saw them having heated arguments. They weren't in each other's company as often, for which James had been grateful, and things seemed strained between them.

Snape had done something to Lily right before their O.W.L. exams, something that had reduced Lily to tears in the common room. James figured he'd probably never know what Snape had done, but he'd been only too glad to step up his torment of the other boy in retribution for Lily. He also figured that since Snape had called Lily a mudblood when she'd tried to defend him at the end of last year that their friendship had ended.

If that was the case, what was Snape doing here, watching Lily? And what was more, why was his face a mixture of anger, jealousy, and longing?

James chanced a look back at Sirius and Lily, and saw them standing from the swings and walking toward where he stood under the tree with Snape. Snape took a step back, obviously intent on hiding himself better, and James automatically stuck out his foot, tripping Snape.

Lily looked their way, her eyes narrowing, and Sirius stiffened. James stepped back quickly as Snape looked around, clearly searching for the person who had tripped him.

"What are you doing here, Snape?" Sirius demanded, his hand going to his pocket.

"Making sure Evans doesn't come to harm in your company," Snape shot back, regaining his footing. "I'm sure you must know by now that your company is extremely undesirable within proper wizarding circles."

"Sev, stop!" Lily admonished angrily.

"You would know all about being undesirable company, wouldn't you, Snivellus?" Sirius spat, his face flushing.

"Come on, Sirius," Lily said, tugging on his arm, and after a long moment, Sirius turned his back on Snape and started to walk away with Lily.

"Does Potter know you're snaking in on his territory?" Snape sneered, his hand inching toward his wand.

Lily whirled, her face flushing angrily, and Sirius turned as well, advancing on Snape.

"I am not property to be guarded or claimed, Snape, surely you know that by now!" Lily shouted, taking all three boys by surprise. "Come on, Sirius, I need to get home."

And leaving a very surprised Snape, and James, behind, Lily and Sirius left the park.

James didn't think he'd ever loved either of them more.

* * *

After following Sirius home in the same manner as he'd followed him to Lily's house, James snuck into his room and removed his cloak. Though it seemed much longer, they'd only been gone a few hours. As James tucked his cloak into his trunk, his stomach grumbled, reminding him that it was nearly time for lunch. 

He headed down to the kitchen and made himself a towering roast beef sandwich. He was just about to tuck into it when Sirius came into the kitchen.

"I want to tell you something, Prongs," he said, looking nervous.

"Okay," James said, unconcerned. He took another bite of his sandwich and watched with mild interest as Sirius sat down.

"I don't want you to hear this from someone else and get the wrong idea," Sirius continued, fidgeting.

James let him fidget, and grunted in response, his mouth full of sandwich. Sirius looked at him, annoyance flickering across his face.

"Would you mind paying attention?" he asked crankily.

James swallowed. "Sorry, I'm listening. Please go on." He looked at Sirius with rapt attention.

Sirius looked annoyed by this as well, so James sighed and put down his sandwich. "I'm listening," he repeated.

"Alright, well, hear me out before you get mad," Sirius said. "I've been going to see Lily."

James nodded, and Sirius looked at him, surprise on his face.

"And we've been talking about our families," Sirius said haltingly.

"Right," James responded.

"I'm serious," he said.

"And I'm James," James replied.

"James!" Sirius yelled, exasperated.

"Padfoot, I followed you today," James told him, sighing. "I saw what you were doing."

"You… followed me?" Sirius asked, looking hurt.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't doing something where you might get hurt or in trouble, at least, not without me. And I saw you with Lily and I was ready to kill you, but then, well…I – I couldn't help but overhear…" James said in a rush.

"You followed me," Sirius repeated, frowning slightly.

"Yeah."

"So you heard everything?"

"Not everything," James corrected him. "Once I realized you weren't snaking in on my territory, I noticed Snape watching you."

"Right, Snape," Sirius said, his face hardening. "I've decided we need a new project while we wait to finish the map."

"Alright," James said, relieved to move beyond the fact that he'd followed his friend.

"It's time for operation Snipe Snape."


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Yellowwolf was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

A few weeks passed, and three excited boys and one not so excited boy readied to Floo to Diagon Alley. Operation Snipe Snape was about to commence. The boys planned to make a little visit to the Apothecary that very evening.

Sirius, after a little prodding from James, had told Remus and Peter about his meetings with Lily and the following confrontation with Snape. Peter had wholeheartedly agreed that playtime was over, while Remus was more hesitant about the whole thing. He reckoned the last thing they needed was get into trouble and have their map discovered. James had said he'd been worrying too much but Remus couldn't help feeling that it would be better for them to lie low, at least until the map was finished.

One by one, the boys used the floo in Remus's kitchen, promising his mother they wouldn't be long. As he watched his three friends disappear into the flames, he nearly decided not to go along, but with a long suffering sigh, he stepped into the flames, shouting, "The Leaky Cauldron!"

Remus scrambled to his feet in the Leaky Cauldron and hurried to catch up with his friends, brushing soot from his robes. He nodded to the bartender behind the bar and followed James and Peter, who were trailing Sirius.

Soon, Remus knew, the shops of Diagon Alley would be closing, but the cafes and pubs would stay open for those wishing to have a nice drink after finishing all their Hogwarts shopping. The beginning of the school year was quite close now, but the four boys had purchased their supplies the day before. Today, they were here purely to take revenge on Snape for his sniping comments earlier in the summer. The plan was to linger by the shop and wait for Snape to come out. As they had been watching his movements for some time, they knew he was closing up shop that evening.

Remus still considered this to be a very bad idea, but he had come along, nonetheless, so he could keep an eye on the situation and interfere if necessary. Sirius and James had promised they wouldn't take it too far but both were still furious with the Slytherin. Sirius, because of the comments Snape had made about him being disowned, and James, because he, of course, felt protective of Sirius and also because Snape had been spying on his Lily. Peter was just tagging along, like he always did.

"Prongs, please reconsider this," Remus said, trying once more to dissuade his friend. "The last thing we need now is a fight going on between us and Snape. Whatever it is you do to him, Snape will try to get back at you and that could very much endanger the plans we have for the map."

He glanced up as they slowed their pace, seeing that they were just a few shops up from the Apothecary. The four boys came to a halt, and Remus could see, quite clearly from where they'd stopped, the front windows of the potion supply store. They had a good view from their current position and were unlikely to be noticed by Snape.

"Moony, will you please relax? There's nothing that git can do to us, honestly," James said for the umpteenth time. He understood Remus's concerns, he really did, but they were unnecessary. If Snape started trouble for them back at Hogwarts, they knew the castle like the back of their hands. There were four of them versus one of him, which made it easy to know if they were being followed, not to mention the support they would get from all the other Gryffindors. Slytherin and Gryffindor were still enemies and nothing was going to change that any time soon.

Remus glared but said nothing, staring down the other side of the street. Witches and wizards were emerging from the closing shops with their supplies, hurrying along the street to get home. The street was rapidly becoming quite deserted, which Remus figured was a rather large disadvantage. His friends would dare to do more when there was no one around to stop them.

James's eyes were fixed on the door and they lit up when he saw the lights go out. It would only be a matter of time before Snape would come out. He grinned maliciously, almost Slytherin-like. He bloody well wanted revenge. He'd never gotten along with Snape, but it seemed to have gotten considerably worse over summer.

Not more than a minute later, the door opened and they were greeted by the familiar sight of a mop of greasy hair, a crooked nose and a lanky body. They waited until Snape had closed the door.

"Snivellus!" James shouted, startling Snape so much he actually jumped. The boy whirled around and looked at the approaching group of boys.

"What are you still doing here? Isn't it past your curfew already?" Snape asked, lips curving into a cold smile. He didn't look the least bit fearful and Remus noticed one of his hands had gone into his robes, no doubt to grab hold of his wand. James, Sirius and Peter seemed to be oblivious to that fact. Remus, who was standing a bit behind the others, took hold of his wand too, just in case.

James snickered. "We're here because we don't quite like the way you've been treating Sirius."

Snape smirked and said, "Black getting disowned is rather amusing, though. I'm rather pleased when I think of that poor noble family finally being rid of the son who was a disgrace to them. Gryffindor, honestly!"

Remus could see Sirius's fists clenching and unclenching, and he subtly placed a hand on the other boy's arm, intent on restraining him if necessary. James's glare had turned to one of pure ice. Remus still couldn't quite figure out what they wanted to achieve with this. It would only aggravate the situation further.

"Oh, I'm a proud Gryffindor," Sirius said. "And I honestly don't care that they disowned me. I've never belonged there; I knew it, they knew it. They made the right decision. I'm the one who's lucky to get away."

Remus knew for a fact that Sirius was pretending not to care. He'd also been told about the Howler and he'd seen how much it was actually affecting Sirius. No matter how much his friend might hate his family, they were still his family.

"So, you enjoyed the Howler then? Oh yes," he added at their shocked expressions. "Word travels fast in the better layers of society."

Remus couldn't help himself, he snorted loudly, drawing Snape's eyes to him. "Better layers? You're in no way better than any of us, you're no better than the muggle-born children. You're not better than anyone. No one's better than another person."

"Depends on how you look at it," Snape said, smirking again. "We are better, superior if you will. We're meant for greater things."

"Yes, and I'm Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic," James muttered, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Peter laughed loudly while Sirius smiled. Snape just continued to smirk.

"If anyone here is scum, it would be you, Snivellus," Sirius said, "Spying on Lily Evans like that? What would your little friends think about that?"

Sirius seemed to have hit a nerve there. Snape's face hardened in anger. "Don't talk about Lily!" he growled.

"Someone has a crush on her," Sirius said in a singsong voice, smiling. Snape's normally pale skin now had a reddish tinge to it. The lack of answer only proved to anger James. Lily was his, Goddamn it! If that git knew what was good for him, James thought, he had better stay away from Lily, or he'd kill him.

"Stay away from Lily, Snape!" James said in such a threatening voice that even Remus felt the hairs on the back of his head stand up. He'd never heard that tone of voice before, ever, from James. He'd never heard the other boy sound so dark; he sounded downright dangerous.

Snape seemed to have picked up on that as well, but he wasn't easily intimidated. "Or what? Lily and I may not get along very well at the moment, but she still won't like you touching me, be sure of that, Potter. Hurt me, and she will loathe you even more than she already does. And boy, how she hates you. She can't stand the sight of you, and really, who can blame her? You're an arrogant, spoiled attention seeker, and those are exactly the qualities Lily isn't looking for."

"Don't talk like you know what she wants, because you don't know," James hissed through clenched teeth.

"Oh, don't I?" Snape asked, grinning from ear to ear, clearly enjoying this. He's found James's weak point. "We've been friends, Potter, very good friends and she told me things. Like how she hates you, how you think you're the king of Hogwarts, while in reality you're nothing more than a giant prat."

"Prongs, stay calm, he's trying to get to you," Remus whispered. He took a slight step forward, keeping an eye on both Sirius and James; both boys were visibly fuming.

"Then why have we gone out before, huh? Why have I been writing to her all summer?"

"Who knows? Perhaps she's just looking for a chance to hurt you."

"Lily would never do that!" Remus roared, losing his temper at last. He knew her, she wouldn't sink that low, not ever. "Listen, you slimy git, Lily does like James and you just can't stand the fact that you're losing her to your enemy, but in truth, you lost her ages ago. She will never be friends with you again, no matter how much you think otherwise or how much you spy on her or try to talk to her. She hates you, Snape!"

Snape reached for his wand but the boys were ready, all four of them had their wands pointed now.

"Just give us a reason, Snivellus. I dare you," James said, smiling wickedly. Snape seemed to realize there was no way in hell he was going to be able to take on all four of them so he put away his wand, glaring but this time looking frightened as well.

Remus could tell James and Sirius were just itching to hex him, he could practically see them thinking about which spell to use, and he wasn't going to let that happen. It would get them into some serious trouble.

"Come on, guys, let's just go. He isn't worth getting into trouble over," he hissed. James seemed to get a grip on himself, and he nodded. He also thinking about Lily. Snape did have a point. Lily would be furious with him if he hexed Snape. He lowered his wand; Sirius followed his example, and so did Peter.

"You're lucky, Snape. Just wait until we get back to Hogwarts," Sirius said, the tone of his voice leaving no doubt that he would be doing his very best to make Snape's life a living hell.

Snape's frightened look disappeared when they lowered their wands and he was smirking again. "Be careful there, Black. I do happen to have friends, some very good friends who know more about magic than you lot combined."

"Come on," Remus hissed. They left, leaving Snape in the middle of the now deserted street.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Yellowwolf and Tiffany were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**

The Hogwarts Express was about to depart from Platform 9 ¾. The platform was crowded with parents saying goodbye to their children. There was hardly any room to move, let alone move around with a heavy trunk filled with books and everything necessary for the upcoming school year. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were very excited for the upcoming year, not so much because lessons would start again and all the homework that would come with it, but because they could finally complete their map, the Marauder's Map. Never in their lives had they willed their vacation to go by faster, and of course, the vacation had gone by excruciatingly slowly. They had spent a lot of time together, hoping that they'd overlooked a step in the mapmaking process just so that they could do something, but they were not so lucky.

They had spent one more full moon with Remus, which had thankfully passed uneventfully. He hadn't tried to attack any more people, and had played with the stag, dog, and rat unconcernedly, prancing around in the moonlight like a big puppy.

And as for Snape, well, it could've gotten worse, but surprisingly, it didn't. After their confrontation with Snape in Diagon Alley, Sirius and James wanted revenge more than ever. But, even more than revenge, they wanted to be able to finish the map, and thus, they let the situation sit. Remus figured they were likely just biding their time, and he grew more and more filled with dread as he wondered what his friends might do to the greasy Slytherin.

Remus looked around the platform, spotting James and Sirius only a small distance away with James's parents. Peter no doubt was somewhere near them, too.

"Be careful, darling," his mother spoke worriedly, bringing his attention back to her. He knew what she was referring to.

"I will. My friends will be there to help me," he said, smiling reassuringly. She pulled him into a tight hug. Remus awkwardly patted her on the back. When he pulled away, he could see tears shining in her bright eyes. He didn't know what to do or say, so he turned to his father.

"Have a good year, son," his father said, smiling before pulling him into a brief one-armed hug.

"I will."

"And be good! Don't let your friends put you up to anything you don't want to do!" his mother warned.

"I won't," Remus promised, thinking about the map they were soon going to make. He did want to do that, though, so he hadn't made any promises he would have to break. Remus said goodbye to his parents and grabbed his trunk, maneuvering it between the throngs of people until he had reached James and Sirius.

"Thank you for letting me stay all summer," he heard Sirius say to Mrs. Potter.

"It was our pleasure, dear! You're part of the family, after all. And you know you're more than welcome to come next summer and during the Christmas holidays," she said, smiling warmly. James and Sirius hugged Mr. and Mrs. Potter and said goodbye to them as well. At that moment, Peter joined them and they headed for the train.

"And keep out of trouble, for Merlin's sake!" Mrs. Potter shouted after them. The four boys just smiled as they got on the train and went in search for an empty compartment to share. They found one quite easily and settled themselves inside, James next to Sirius and Remus and Peter opposite of them. They stared out of the window, waving at their parents who were now standing together. Remus hoped that his parents wouldn't swap stories about the summer with the Potters, as the boys had lied to them about the sleep-over earlier that summer.

He felt a faint blush rise on his cheeks and stared straight ahead, watching Sirius. His friend was waving at the Potters too, but there was the hint of sadness in his eyes. Remus's heart ached for Sirius. No matter how much he pretended to be over getting disowned, he clearly wasn't.

The train moved, slowly at first, and then faster and faster until they left King's Cross station and sped towards Hogwarts.

The four boys sat in a compartment, and for the first time, they were all quiet. None of them had much to say, and nobody wanted to break the silence.

Sirius seemed content on staring out the window of the train, watching the trees fly by. James was sprawled out on the seat beside him, looking at the ceiling and daydreaming about nothing in particular. Remus sat across from them, staring at his own feet. Peter was next to Remus, and had taken out a book, which he was contently reading.

The train ride lasted this way until the compartment door slid open, and a girl entered.

"Hello, boys," she said.

This shook all of the boys out of their reverie. Sirius jumped, Remus's head snapped to the left, James sat back up within a mere matter of seconds, and Peter's book slid to the ground with a loud 'thud'.

"Lily!" said James, a smile stretching across his face from ear to ear. Perhaps his daydreaming about her had caused her to come to him.

"Remus ... McGonagall wants to talk to us for a bit," she said, beckoning her head towards the front of the train.

James's head dropped, and his shoulders drooped ... _maybe not._

"I guess I'll see you all a bit later," she said, looking at the other three boys.

They nodded, but her gaze seemed to linger onto James's a bit longer. His heart jumped.

After Remus and Lily left, James sighed.

"Why won't she talk to me?" he moaned in despair.

Peter shrugged, "Maybe she just doesn't like you like that..." he said, trailing off once he noticed that James was giving him a death glare.

"She's probably just shy, mate," said Sirius.

James rolled his eyes.

"She doesn't seem so shy when she's arguing with me!"

The three fell quiet for a moment.

"Mark my words," James said, "By the end of this year, I will get Lily to become my girlfriend ... or ..."

"Or you'll never date another girl again?" asked Sirius, grinning.

"Or you'll eat worms?" Peter suggested.

"Kiss Snape!" Sirius laughed.

"Snape," said James, his eyes narrowing.

"We have to manage to get him away from her," said Sirius.

Peter's eyes widened, "Do you really think he likes Lily like that? I mean ... I doubt that she'll ever show him any sign of affection. After all, she went to the ball with you."

"I don't want her to think of him at all," muttered James.

Nobody said anything for a minute.

James looked up, wanting to say something when his eyes fell on Sirius, who looked a bit sad.

James threw himself across the seat at Sirius and gave him a hug.

"Cheer up, mate. This year will be the best ever!"

Sirius shrugged, but managed to offer a wane smile.

The compartment door slid open again, and Remus walked back in, his arms full of Pumpkin Pastries, Bernie Botts Every Flavored Beans, Licorice Wands, Cockroach Clusters, Blood Pops, Sugar Quills, and Chocolate Frogs.

Every single pair of eyes lit up as they attacked Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Geez, I didn't know that you guys missed me _that_ much!" he said.

"Course," said Peter, in between bites of Blood Pops.

"Yeah, you know we need you to be the brains of our operation for torturing Snape," said James.

Remus's face paled, before returning to normal.

"About that..." he started.

"What?" demanded Sirius.

Remus shrugged. "I just feel a bit sorry for the bloke. I mean, it's not like he's really going to steal Lily away. I mean, we all know that she dislikes him now. Why don't we just give it a rest?"

Nobody answered.

"Why don't we burn him?" suggested Peter.

"Or give him a potion that will take him back to the past."

"Or give him food poisoning!"

The train tooted, interrupting all conversation. They were pulling up to Hogsmeade. Suddenly, the festive mood - or the angry mood, rather - died out, and the four boys immediately turned somber.

"Sixth year at Hogwarts..." trailed Sirius.

"Let's make it a fun one," James promised.

The four boys looked at one another and nodded, before walking out of the compartment and towards Hogwarts for another year.


	21. Chapter TwentyOne

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One**

There was something so satisfying, James decided, about being back at Hogwarts, sitting at the Gryffindor table with his best mates, watching the first years get sorted into their houses.

He watched as one impossibly small child, grinning from ear to ear, jumped from the stool and hurried to the Ravenclaw table. James smiled wistfully, remembering his Sorting, how excited he'd been to discover he'd be in Gryffindor just like his father.

At the same time, it was now impossible to ignore the absences of certain students. There were empty spots at all four tables where his classmates had once sat.

"Muggleborns," Sirius whispered in his ear.

James nodded, his eyes searching out Lily. She sat with her friends, a smile on her face that did not reach her eyes. She made room for a new Gryffindor as he hurried to their table, a genuine, innocent smile on his face. With a friendly smile, she welcomed him, and began to talk to him. James could not make out what she was saying above the general noise at the table.

The Sorting drew to a close, and Professor McGonagall removed the stool and the hat. James turned eagerly to his plate, ready to burden it with heaps of food. Next to him, Sirius followed suit. When food did not appear on the table, James raised his eyes, and saw that Remus was still looking to the head table, where Dumbledore was standing, looking decidedly tired.

"I do not wish to delay your feast – " he began.

"That's good to know," Sirius whispered to James, drawing a disapproving glare from Lily.

"However," Dumbledore continued, "I wish to introduce you to our newest addition to the school, Barnabus Blinkerton, who has graciously agreed to fill to position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Welcome, Professor Blinkerton."

A chorus of muttered welcomes rose from the tables and Peter leaned across his empty plates. "Are we taking bets on how long the Defense professor will last again this year?" he asked quietly.

Sirius snickered beside James, but Remus frowned, keeping his eyes on Dumbledore.

James grimaced and kicked Peter under the table. "Later, Peter," he whispered quickly.

"Without further delay, tuck in," Dumbledore concluded, gesturing grandly before returning to his seat.

Scrumptious, heaping platters of food appeared on the table in front of him, and James grabbed for the nearest serving spoon. Sirius yelped and changed course mid-grab, instead spearing a piece of juicy beef from the platter slightly to his left. Across the table, Peter was heaping potatoes onto his plate, and Remus was reaching for a chicken leg.

"Don't forget to chew," Lily snorted, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

James swallowed and smiled winningly at her, and she rolled her eyes before turning back to the new Gryffindor by her side. Shoulders slumping, James put his fork down, staring at his plate for a moment until the smell was more than he could take and he picked up his fork again.

Once he'd stuffed himself silly, he sat back from his plate, sighing happily.

"No offense to your mum, mate," Sirius said, yawning widely. "But I have missed the food here."

James agreed silently, his eyes going to the head table as Dumbledore stood once again.

"He looks tired," James murmured, and Sirius turned to observe the headmaster.

"Who, Dumbledore?" Sirius asked. "I dunno, you reckon it has something to do with – "

"Before you retire to your common rooms for the evening, I have a few start of term announcements to make," Dumbledore began. "First, Mr. Filch would like me to inform you that all products from Zonko's Joke Shop have been added to the list of banned items, which interested parties may find in his office."

James smirked, thinking of his trunk, which had a firm selection of Zonko's joke items buried beneath his books and robes.

"Secondly, due to the increasingly unsettled climate in the world beyond these castle walls, I regret to inform you that until further notice, all Hogsmeade weekends will be restricted to sixth years and older." Disappointed groans echoed through the Great Hall following this announcement, and Dumbledore waited until the noise had died down before he continued. " Furthermore, for those interested, Professor Blinkerton has kindly volunteered to start a dueling club, to continue your education should the need arise to defend yourself."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, coming around the head table to stand in front of it. During this time, James shot a glance at the Slytherin table, where he was not surprised to see a large number of students, including Snape, not paying the least amount of attention to the headmaster. Dumbledore walked a short distance down the center aisle between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, then turned and observed the students.

"Finally, I ask all of you to look around."

There was a moment of quiet shuffling as the students obeyed. James turned to watch the other students, who were craning their necks as they looked around.

"Many of your classmates have not returned this year. Many of them have fled the country with their families, but others have fallen victim to Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

A muffled sound drew James's attention, and he turned his head slightly to see Lily sitting stiffly, one hand over her mouth and her eyes on the Slytherin table. They were all paying attention now.

Dumbledore continued. "Many of you, I fear, will be asked to make a choice in the upcoming year, a difficult choice. You might be offered power, wealth, safety… but you must remember that those are false promises. You must choose between what is right, and what is easy. And it is a choice you must make for yourself. I hope you choose wisely."

With that, Dumbledore turned his back and made his way to the staff table once more. The professors at the head table looked somber and tense, a condition which did not improve when McGonagall rose to her feet and announced, "Prefects, please escort the younger children to your common rooms."

Suddenly, the Great Hall was filled with the noise of many benches scraping backward, excited chattering, and the voices of prefects calling, "First years, this way. Follow me, please."

James stood as well, Sirius by his side. Remus had already headed for the end of the table, gathering the new Gryffindors as he went. Lily remained where she was, frozen in the same position she'd been in before.

"Alright, Evans?" he called, and she dropped her hand at once, standing abruptly.

"Fine," she said in a clipped tone. "I'm fine." Then she hurried to catch up with the other prefects, her eyes darting to the Slytherin table once more.

"What's with her?" Sirius asked, stuffing a few pieces of bread into his pockets.

"No idea," James answered, mystified. He wrangled a stray first year who had lagged behind, and together he and Sirius ushered the boy forward, passing him off to Lily just as Snape and his group of friends brushed passed them.

"…doddering old fool," Avery was saying. "Doesn't know what he's talking about."

"He's a mudblood lover," Snape spat back, and James saw Lily's frame stiffen. "He doesn't understand why blood purity is so important. He doesn't understand – "

"What you need to understand," James interrupted loudly, "is that if you don't shut up, I'm going to stick my fist down your throat."

Snape turned, a condescending sneer on his face. "Is that so? Who, you and that disowned piece of garbage standing next to you?"

James felt Sirius lunge at Snape, but someone held him back.

"That will be enough, boys," a new voice broke in. Professor Blinkerton stepped between them, his face deadly serious. "You're scaring the sprouts."

Snape and Avery grimaced and went on their way, shooting looks over their shoulders as they went, and the professor stepped aside and motioned the rest of them past.

"A word, Potter," he said as James walked by.

"Sir?"

"Pick your battles." Then, without another word, Blinkerton breezed out of the Great Hall.

Confused, James followed behind him but bumped into someone, who turned out to be Lily, helping the stray first year locate his pet rat, which had escaped and was hiding inside of one of the suits of armor in the Entrance Hall. Without a word, James yanked the suit's left arm off, shook the surprised rat out, and handed in to the small boy.

"Thank you, Potter," Lily said stiffly, not looking at him.

"Evans," James said, and she looked up. There were tears quivering in the corners of her eyes. He struggled for the right words, unsure what he wanted to say. At last, he blurted, "I think your blood is fine."

The corners of her mouth turned up and she ducked her head. "Thanks. You too."

* * *

"I think your blood is fine?" Sirius asked again, roaring with laughter. 

"Shut it, Padfoot," James growled, feeling his face flush. He was in his dorm with his friends, unpacking his trunk and enduring the teasing he was getting for his earlier comment.

"Of all the all time smooth pickup lines, I think you've won, mate," Sirius continued, rolling on his bed.

"Can we just drop it?" James asked once again, knowing it was likely futile. But to his surprise, Remus changed the subject.

"Did any of you hear anything over the summer? Did your parents talk about Voldemort at all?" he asked. "Because I overheard my parents talking about it more than once. Said he was offering special protection to the werewolves, which didn't make any sense to me since he's supposed to be all about blood purity."

"Yeah," Sirius said, his laughter dying abruptly. "My mother and her chums would talk about him. It was all they would talk about, actually. Mother expected me to become one of those Death Eater people, said it was the only way I could redeem myself in her eyes, become a proper Black and all that."

There were several moments of silence following that. "I think you're the first proper Black in generations," James told his friend, patting him on the back.

"Thanks, mate," Sirius said, a genuinely grateful smile on his face. "So you think my blood is fine too, then?"

"Oh, shut up."


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Captain J. Black and Tiffany were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

The boys got to a slow start the next morning. They all wanted to sleep in but Remus would never let that happen. Remus was, of course, the first of the boys up and ready. He had been patient since six that morning. Finally, he was at his last straw and started to charm the pillows to assault his sleeping friends. Peter was the first to rouse, and once he realized what was going on, he ran to get ready. When he returned, Remus was still having no luck waking James and Sirius.

"Let's use more pillows," Peter suggested. He charmed another set of pillows to hit the sleeping boys.

Remus and Peter did this for some time but the other boys just did not respond. Soon feathers were flying all around the room and it looked like it was snowing. Then there came a quiet knock on the door.

"Come in," said Remus helplessly. Lily Evans walked in and went slack jawed.

"Why is it snowing feathers in you room?" she said, recovering a little bit.

"Because we have been smacking an unresponsive James and Sirius with pillows," Remus answered, glaring at the two lumps in the two beds.

"Yeah, they just won't wake up," Peter said, sitting on his bed.

"Oh, bother! Remus, we have to pass out schedules for McGonagall today. She asked last night but… I forgot to tell you," Lily frowned.

"Oh, I see. Well, I will be there as soon as I get these two up and moving," Remus sighed, turning to observe the sleeping boys.

"Oh, let me!" Lily said walking forward. She walked over to Sirius's bed and dug her nails into his shoulder. "Time to wake up!" she shouted at him.

"Ow! I'm up, I'm up!" screamed Sirius, jumping out of his bed.

"Good, now wake James up," Lily commanded.

"Yes, master," Sirius said, doing his best imitation of Igor. Lily grinned at him.

"Uh, Lils, I would back away now," Remus warned. Lily tried to scramble over to Remus but she wasn't quite quick enough. Sirius grabbed her around the waist and jumped onto James's bed. Remus and Peter burst into laughter. All that was visible was Sirius's rear in the air and James's limbs wriggling around under a mass of body and red hair.

"Wos goin' on?" he asked in a muffled voice.

"Let me go!" Lily demanded, trying not to giggle.

"Evans? What are you doing in my bed? Not that I'm complaining, but still…" James said, still muffled.

"I came to get Remus, who wouldn't leave unless you two were up and moving, so I woke up Sirius and he tackled me into your bed," huffed Lily.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Sirius said, his face still buried somewhere in the bed. He shook his rump at them, which only made Peter and Remus laugh even harder. In fact, they were now laughing so hard, they were on the ground clutching at their sides.

A new voice interrupted from the doorway. "Oh, I see how it is, Lily. You wake me up at the crack of dawn and make me get ready for class. Then you make me wait for you downstairs while you come up here and get Remus. Then I walk up here to find the truth: you are in bed with Sirius Black and James Potter!" Everyone paused to glance over and see one of Lily's friends standing in the doorway. She continued, "Why didn't you invite me along?"

"I had no say in this. I was forced into the bed by Sirius," Lily defended, attempting to cross her arms while giving her best glare at Sirius's back.

"Sure, Lily," Sirius said from under James's pillow. "Blame this all on me. We all know that's not the truth, though."

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, annoyed. She tried to untangle herself but Sirius tightened his grip on her.

"Oi! I would like to breathe, you know," James said from somewhere at the bottom of the pile. Sirius shifted himself and Lily. Lily was now right in the middle of James and Sirius, who was still hanging onto her. She glared at him and he smiled. Every one laughed at her expression.

"Right, then. Guys, Lily and I need to go. Get ready for class, please," Remus said, laughing, as he stood up.

"Aw, but I was just getting warm and comfortable," pouted Sirius.

"Release the girl, Padfoot," Remus said in a commanding voice. Then he started to laugh again.

"Fine," Sirius said, reluctantly letting Lily go. She jumped out of the bed like it was on fire and sprinted out of the room, grabbing her friend and Remus on her way out.

"Well, that was rude. She didn't even say good-bye," Sirius said, grinning. James smacked him with the only whole pillow left in the room.

* * *

"Here are the schedules," Remus announced, coming up behind James, Sirius, and Peter. They paused in their breakfasts and turned around to take the schedules from him.

As they examined them to see what their classes for the year would be like, Remus grabbed a piece of toast and poked Sirius and James. "Oh, just a heads up for you two. Lily is on a war path so behave yourselves today."

Sirius grinned and scanned the area for Lily. He spotted her further down the Gryffindor table, talking to a few fifth year girls.

"Oi Lil! This morning was great! You should come back tomorrow so we can do that again! We really enjoyed it!" he shouted down the table at her. He winked when she glared at him. Her face turned as red as her hair as she stomped over to the boys.

"Right, I think it's time for me to leave," Remus said quickly, walking away. He studiously continued to pass out the remaining schedules to the other sixth year Gryffindors.

Peter grabbed his schedule before he, too, ran for it. "See you in class!" he shouted over his shoulder on the way out. Sirius turned to grace him with a huge smile, and when he turned back to Lily, he was shocked to meet a slap in the face.

"Oi! What was that for?" Sirius yelled, clutching his cheek.

"You are insufferable!" Lily screeched. "How dare you insinuate anything about me at the top of your lungs!"

"Well, maybe if you weren't so damned uptight, I wouldn't do that!" Sirius yelled back. He stood up and walked out of the hall. Lily gave a dirty look to James and stormed after Sirius.

"What did I miss?" James asked Remus, who came back over once the fighting pair had left.

"I have no idea," Remus said. "But whatever you missed, I missed it too."

"Yeah, I know. They were getting along great during the summer," James said, getting up and heading for the exit to the Great Hall.

"I wonder…" Remus pondered suddenly. "Do you think that it's just a show?"

Before James could respond, however, there was a loud commotion just outside of the Great Hall. James and Remus rushed out of the Hall along with everyone else. There was a battle of epic proportions going on in the entryway.

Sirius was dueling Snape, Regulus, and five other Slytherins. Seeing what was going on, James and Remus drew their wands and jumped into the fray. James was battling and Remus was trying to stop the dueling.

"Just like a Slytherin to fight seven on one," James spat at Snape, who ignored him.

In the end it took three professors, Lily and two prefects, and the Headmaster to put a stop to the madness. They were all in large amounts of trouble because what started out as a fight between Sirius and Snape, turned into an all-out war between Gryffindor and Slytherin. They were all put into two single file lines and marched up to the Headmaster's office.

"I swear to you that you will pay for this, Snape," Sirius hissed quietly over his shoulder to Snape.

"I would like to see you try," Snape shot back

"That is enough talking. You are already in enough trouble as it is. DO BE QUIET!" shouted McGonagall. Both boys promptly shut their mouths but continued to glare at each other.

* * *

"I hate him!" muttered Sirius as the gang headed back to their dormitory.

"Don't let him get to you," said James, putting a hand on his friend's back sympathetically.

Peter nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah!" he chimed in.

"He'll get what he deserves," added Remus. "After all, it's not as if he's being nice to Lily anymore, either. So we don't have to worry about him and Lily being too friendly. We just have to watch out and make sure he doesn't put us into any hot water. We need as much time as we can get to finish making the Maurader's Map."

Sirius nodded his head as a soft smile grazed his face, "I guess. Thanks, you guys. You three always know what to say."

James nodded, placing one hand over his heart, "We're just gifted with words," he responded solemnly.

"Yeah, like ... 'I think your blood is fine', right, mate?" Sirius teased, as laughter spilled out of his mouth.

James quickly turned red, and he shouted hotly, "Hey! I thought you said you'd stop bringing that up."

Sirius couldn't stop laughing, causing James to grow even more and more frustrated.

"I'll get you!" said James, as he chased Sirius up the stairs and into their room.

Peter and Remus looked at one another, amused.

"What great friends we have, huh?" asked Peter.

Remus chuckled. "We're never going to have a boring and quiet day, I think."


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Tiffany was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

"Today, we will be working on a Truth Potion called Veritaserum," announced Professor Slughorn to his combined class of Slytherins and Gryffindors.

Of course, the Slytherins sat on one side of the room, and the Gryffindors on the other, both wanting to be as far away from each other as possible.

"Who can tell me what Veritaserum does?" asked Slughorn.

Lily raised her hand, and the professor quickly called on her.

"It's a very powerful and strong Truth Potion, and three drops can force the drinker to spill his or her innermost secrets," she said gravely.

Professor Slughorn beamed and said, "Correct! Five points to Gryffindor."

"Now let's see..." he continued, pausing as he glanced down at his notebook to consult his notes.

Lily smiled to her friend, Alice Jones, a fellow Gryffindor who was dating Frank Longbottom.

There was a commotion from the other side of the room, and Lily could see a few Slytherins mocking her; however, she could clearly see Snape, who was sitting in the middle of the crowd, whispering something to another Slytherin. She read his lips, and the word that she saw made her tremble with rage.

_"Mudblood."_

But before she could do anything about it - she wasn't sure what - Sirius and James had already jumped out of their chairs, and were storming towards Snape.

"How dare you!"

"You son of a-"

"You no good-"

"ENOUGH!" roared the loud voice of Professor Slughorn.

The whole room froze.

"You two, get back in your seats," he said, motioning at Sirius and James. They complied.

"Can somebody please tell me what's going on?"

"It's Snape! He called Lily something!" shouted James angrily.

"What? What did he say?" asked Professor Slughorn.

"Yes. What did I say?" asked Snape silkily.

James paused, silent, before saying, "He called Lily a ... a ..."

"A mudblood," Snape finished, "because she is one."

The Gryffindors all let out a collective gasp, and even Slughorn looked shocked.

"Mr. Snape! I will NOT tolerate this kind of language in my room. Or anywhere else for that matter. Please gather your things and report to Professor Dumbledore's office immediately! I will make sure the proper punishment will be placed upon you," he commanded.

As Snape trudged out of the room, he glanced back at Lily.

Her face was bright red, as if she had been holding her breath. Her hands were clenched tightly together, on her lap. He glanced up into her eyes, and immediately he wished he hadn't. Her once sparkling green eyes, which a year ago, had looked at him with such friendliness, no longer held a trace of what had been. It was masked with hurt, pain, anger, and ... he reeled back. Hatred.

Shaking his head, he stepped out of the room, and laid his back against the cold wall. It was for the best.

* * *

"I can't believe he did that!" said Peter, as he struggled to follow James's angry strides through the corridors. 

"He's a filthy animal," said James.

"If only I could wring his neck!" Sirius said in frustration.

"Calm down. All of you," Remus said calmly. "What happened is done with. He probably got what he deserved."

"What he deserves is to die and go to..." James stopped in his tracks to avoid colliding with someone strolling around the corner. "Hell-o, Professor Dumbledore," he managed to choke out.

The Headmaster smiled warmly at the four boys.

"Good day. Good day?" he asked them.

Sirius nodded, "Of course! Wonderful day."

Dumbledore nodded. "Good, good. It was most unfortunate to have Mr. Snape in my office a few hours ago. He told me that he was sent by Professor Slughorn because he had accidentally said something he didn't mean to say..." he said thoughtfully.

"It was no accident!" blurted James.

"Really?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "what do you know of the situation, Mr. Potter?"

Remus grabbed a hold of James's arm.

"Nothing, Professor. Nothing."

Dumbledore nodded, "Well ... if you have anything you wish to tell me ... ever ... my office is open."

He nodded at the four boys, before disappearing into the corridors.

"Why didn't you let me tell him?" demanded James.

"We shouldn't get involved more than we already have. After all, the Slytherins would kill us if they found out we ratted on Snape to Dumbledore!" hissed Remus.

James bit his lip, "I guess..."

"Come on. Let's go back to our room and work on the map," whispered Peter.

The other three boys nodded before following him.

When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, they stopped.

"Password?" she asked.

"Butterbeer," said Sirius.

The portrait opened, and the four climbed in.

"Man, we need a better password!" said Peter.

"I heard that, young man!" cried the Fat Lady as she swung back to close the entryway to the Gryffindor common room.

The three boys immediately headed up to their dorm, but James held back.

"Uh, you three go up first. I - I'll catch up soon," he said, his eyes landing upon Lily.

The other three boys followed his eyes, and nodded when they saw Lily sitting on a plump red couch, staring into the fireplace. They headed upstairs, giving James some privacy with Lily.

* * *

"What do you think Prongs is going to say to Lily?" asked Sirius. 

"She looks really upset. I'm pretty sure he won't do anything that will make him look stupid. I doubt he's ever been around a girl who was crying before," said Peter thoughtfully.

After they exhausted the possibilities of what James would say to Lily, they agreed it was time to continue working on the map.

Remus took out the parchment, and said, "Well ... we just need to finish making the map of Hogwarts on here. And then we need to use the potion that will show everybody. And we need to draw out the secret passages. Then we need to place the spell so that it will only open if the password is stated, and erased if the other is stated."

Sirius nodded. "Hey! Why don't we spell the Map to also trick the person if he or she doesn't know the password? Like ... we can all have our secret names on there, and if somebody commands us to show ourselves, we can confuse them by insulting them or something!"

Peter grinned. "That sounds cool."

"Let's work on finishing making the map and applying the potion that will show everyone, and then we'll worry about that," Remus said, but he was already thinking that it was a great idea.

* * *

James sat down next to Lily, unsure of what to say. 

He cleared his throat.

She didn't say anything.

He cracked his neck.

Nothing.

"Er ... hey, Lily."

She jumped, and she spun around until her eyes landed upon the boy with the messy hair and the crooked glasses.

"Oh! Hi ... hi, James. I didn't hear you come in."

James cleared his throat again. "I ... um ... just wanted to see if you were alright."

Lily immediately looked away.

"Lily?"

"I ... I'm fine, James. Really," she said, looking at him and forcing a smile.

James was almost convinced, until he saw that tears were forming in her beautiful green eyes.

He didn't know what to do. He'd never been next to a girl who was crying. Especially not a girl he liked.

He slid closer to her, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her, and patting her back. She stiffened at first, before collapsing in his arms, and letting out her tears.

James quietly soothed her, hoping he was doing the whole comforting thing right. He hated to see Lily sad.

"Shh ... it'll be all right," he whispered to her.

He'd make sure of it. By the time he was finished with Snape, he would be sorry that he'd ever messed with Lily.


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

Even with Peter as a rat, it was clear that they were outgrowing the Invisibility Cloak. It barely covered the four of them, and James was sure that their feet were probably showing, even though they were hunched over. They shuffled along in the darkened third floor corridor toward the statue of the humpbacked witch, listening intently for any sign of professors or prefects.

"Ouch!" James hissed as someone stepped on his foot. "Careful!"

"Sorry," Sirius responded, not sounding the least bit sorry. "You ought to not put your big feet in my way."

"My big feet?" James snorted. "I'm not the one who has to have my shoes custom made because my feet are so big!"

"That is not why I have my shoes custom-made and you know it, Prongs!"

"Will you two shut up?" Remus whispered in exasperation. "We'll never be able to hear anyone else coming with you two sniping at each other."

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence, and James muttered, "Sorry," to Sirius, who repeated it, as well.

"Once we get the map made, we won't have to worry about hiding like this," Remus continued, gesturing with the piece of paper in his hand.

They were nearly finished inscribing the image of Hogwarts and its corridors and passageways onto the map; all that remained now were the secret passages and the professor's quarters, which they had not been brave enough to attempt just yet. They were all a bit grouchy as the making of the map had required them to wander the castle at night, away from prying eyes, and so none of them had gotten any sleep, really, since the incident with Snape and the Slytherins on the first day of classes.

They had taken turns working on the map. It turned out to be a bit tedious as it required them to cast a certain spell on themselves, and then keep their wand pointed against the map as they walked every passageway, but as the map continued to grow and take shape, even Sirius admitted there was something very cool about seeing their work come together.

Remus told them he reckoned they'd have the map completely drawn by the week's end, so long as they didn't have any troubles getting into the professors' quarters. James was simultaneously relieved and skeptical. Having not slept much for nearly a week meant that it was harder than ever to stay awake in Binn's History of Magic class, and he couldn't possibly see how mapping out professors' private quarters could be trouble-free.

They were skating on thin ice as it was, after that debacle of a duel in the Entrance Hall. Besides deducting enough points to put the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses into negative points, Dumbledore had also set them in group detention, for the upcoming weekend. It was decisions like that, James thought, that made him wonder just how wise Dumbledore really was. Getting caught breaking into private quarters was certain to be enough to make Dumbledore do something terribly drastic, and James didn't want to think about what that might be.

"Finally," Sirius whispered as they reached the statue guarding the secret passageway which led to the cellar of Honeydukes' sweet shop in Hogsmeade. "_Dissendium,"_ he said, tapping the statue with his wand. It slid to the side and they quickly made their way into the passage.

James ripped the cloak off, relieved to be out from under its oppressive heat. He took a deep breath and held up his wand, lighting it. It appeared the same as always. He often wondered how many people knew about these secret ways in and out of the school. In all their time at Hogwarts, since they'd known about the existence of the secret passages, James and the rest had never encountered another soul coming in or out of the passageways. He didn't even know if the professors knew.

Wasting no time, Remus set off along the passage, and James and Sirius went in front, holding up their lit wands. Peter trailed behind in rat form, apparently too lazy to transform back to his human shape.

"So, Padfoot," James said, his curiosity getting the best of him. "What was that between you and Lily in the Great Hall the other day?"

Sirius grinned at him, the sight somewhat eerie in the glow of wand light. "When she slapped me?" he clarified.

"Yeah," James said, and he saw Remus behind them, pretending not to pay attention but listening intently. James had been meaning to ask this question ever since the incident, but he'd kept getting distracted by possible plots to make Snape's life hell. "What was that all about?"

"That was for you, Prongs," Sirius said lightly. "So there wouldn't be any rumors about me and Lily being together."

"Oh," James said, forcing his voice to be casual, "because you spent so much time together this summer?"

"Talking, Prongs," Sirius said soothingly. "Lily isn't my type and you know it. You know why we were spending time together."

"I know," James groused, annoyed with himself for bringing it up in the first place. "So, the slap and the name calling…?"

"All a show. It wouldn't do well for Lily's pristine reputation if people knew she actually liked hanging around me."

"Like hanging out with Snape didn't already dirty her pristine reputation," James snorted.

"She was afraid she'd hit you too hard," Remus piped up from behind them, and James turned back to look at him, in the process banging his head on a low spot of the tunnel.

"Yeah, that's what she said when she came after me. She apologized, but it was all good fun."

James kept his mouth shut, but he was burning with resentment. Two of his friends were talking to Lily on a regular basis, but whenever she saw James, she gave him a small smile, bit her lip and hurried the other way. James just didn't understand. He thought they'd made such progress when he'd comforted her that night after Snape called her what he'd called her in Slughorn's class.

"Well, we've reached the edge of our map," Remus announced suddenly, drawing James out of his reverie.

"And we've reached Honeydukes'," Peter chimed in, having transformed back to his human form at some point during James's musings.

"So that's one passageway finished, and only six more to do," Sirius said cheerfully.

Forcing himself to smile at this accomplishment, James followed his friends back out of the tunnel, though the temptation to just sneak up into Honeydukes' for a little snack was nearly overpowering.

Before the night was through, they managed to map out the secret tunnel hidden behind the mirror on the fourth floor, though James wasn't sure how much good it would do. He wasn't an expert on construction or anything like that, but even he could see that the tunnel was beginning to show serious signs of wear and tear.

"We'll do the tunnel from the Whomping Willow tomorrow night," James said, yawning widely into his hand as they readied for bed. "And the one that cuts under the lake, too."

"And we still need to do the professors' quarters," Sirius reminded him.

Remus stifled a sigh and climbed into bed.

"Alright, Moony?" James asked, peering over at his friend.

"The full moon is close," Remus said matter-of-factly. "I'm starting to get pretty worn out."

"We can do tomorrow night without you," James offered quickly. "If you wanted us to, that is."

Remus smiled in relief. "That would be great, guys. Not that I don't want to be out there with you, but…"

"We understand, mate," Peter said from behind his bed curtains.

* * *

And so, the next night, they set off under the cloak with much more space for them to move about. Peter once again transformed into a rat and scurried ahead while keeping a look out for Filch and his cat. As James yawned continuously under the cloak, he couldn't help but feel slightly envious of Remus, who had come up with the whole map idea, who was tucked away in bed, sleeping peacefully. Then he banished that thought. Remus couldn't help it that he needed more rest than they did.

They quickly completed the rest of the secret passageways, only having one close call with Professor Blinkerton, who paused and looked around carefully.

"Strange noises around the castle tonight," Blinkerton said to no one in particular. "One would think there were students up to no good."

Sirius and James grinned to each other as the professor tucked his hands behind his back and strolled the other way. Professor Blinkerton was turning out to be their favorite Defense professor in several years. They didn't even have the heart to take bets on how long he would last. Still, he was a professor, and he could give detention, so Sirius and James waited until Peter came back and said he'd seen the professor go into his quarters before they dared to move again.


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

It turned out that getting into the private quarters of professors was definitely a task for a rat, as Peter had no problems slipping through the various cracks and holes in the walls. It was problematic for him to carry his wand and the map with him, but they quickly discovered that so long as he had them with him when he transformed, everywhere he walked as the rat automatically transferred to the map.

"So all that's left now is the other houses' common rooms," James whispered excitedly to Sirius and Peter on their way back to their common room. "And that won't be a problem for us at all, not with Wormtail, here."

Peter beamed happily but then froze. "Someone is coming!" he whispered urgently before transforming into the rat and scurrying away around the corner. James quickly pulled the cloak over his and Sirius's heads, and they stepped back into a nook, listening as a group of voices approached.

"Very worrying, indeed," McGonagall was saying as she hurried through the corridor, escorting half a dozen unfamiliar looking witches and wizards.

"My contact was quite vehement that Voldemort is trying to recruit members of this school," one of the unfamiliar wizards said.

"We'll discuss this more in the meeting, Arthur," McGonagall said. "Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you. And he'll be relieved to see you, Fabian, and Gideon. The Order was quite worried about you."

"No need to worry about us, Minerva," said one of the redheaded men Professor McGonagall had just addressed. "Gideon and I always land on our feet. We're like cats that way."

Professor McGonagall paused for just a moment, a hint of a smile on her face, and James felt himself seize up with humor. Not just anyone could get away with making a cat joke to Professor McGonagall. He felt Sirius shaking slightly beside him.

"Yeah, especially when we have Marlene watching our backs," the man named Gideon said.

A young looking witch following the group smiled as she walked past James and Sirius.

"Yeah, McKinnon is scary with that wand of hers in battle," Fabian said, glancing back at the witch.

"You're scary with your wand, period," she quipped as the group moved away from James and Sirius and rounded the corner.

Sirius grabbed James's arm and started after the group. "Come on," he whispered.

"What?" James asked, startled, scrambling to keep up with him.

"Voldemort is recruiting people in our school," he said, and James looked at him, surprised to see his face set in a serious expression. Suddenly, he understood Sirius hadn't been shaking with mirth. "My brother…" Sirius trailed off.

"Right," James said, catching on. "Let's go then."

However, when they turned the corner, they discovered their quarry had disappeared.

"Where the hell did they go?" Sirius whispered, looking agitated.

"I don't know," James said, turning in a slow circle. There was nowhere they could have gone, but they were definitely gone.

"I want to know what they're talking about! What's this 'Order' thing McGonagall is talking about? What's Voldemort doing recruiting people from our school? He's a Dark wizard!" Sirius ranted. "They can't keep us in the dark like this!"

"Padfoot, be quiet!" James hissed, putting a hand over his friend's mouth. "Are you trying to get us caught?"

Sirius glared at him until he removed his hand, and then he gestured sharply that they continue on to the common room.

Once they were safely behind the painting of the Fat Lady, Sirius shot out from under the cloak and began to pace rapidly. "That's my brother, Prongs. He's going to try to get my brother."

James didn't want to say anything, but he didn't think that Voldemort would have to try to get Regulus. He figured Regulus would go gladly.

"It's because Reg hangs out with Snape. He never was like he is now before he started hanging out with Snape."

James continued to hold his silence as Sirius ranted.

"Sure, he wanted to make our mother and father proud, so he wouldn't talk to me at home, but don't you remember our second year? How he would still talk to me here at school? And then he started hanging out with Snape and that all stopped. It's all Snape. I just wish…" Suddenly Sirius went quiet, and he got a strange look on his face.

"Padfoot, what is it?" James said, finding this silence more frightening than the rant.

"Nothing," Sirius said. "Forget I said anything. I'm going to bed."

James followed him upstairs, rolling his eyes when he discovered Peter already tucked away in his bed, feigning sleep. Privately, James had no idea how Peter had ended up in Gryffindor. James knew some Hufflepuffs that were braver than Peter was.

* * *

The following day, Sirius's strange silence continued, prompting Remus to ask James at lunch what had happened the night before. James filled him in as best he could.

"You're sure she said 'the Order'?" Remus asked, looking pale.

"Yeah," James said. "Do you know what that is?"

Remus didn't say anything for a moment. "Yeah, I do, Prongs. It's the Order of the Phoenix."

"The what? How do you know that?"

"Lily and I stumbled across strange people in the corridors during one of our patrols. When we asked them to identify themselves, one of them told us they were members of the Order of the Phoenix. Right after that Professor McGonagall appeared and sent them on their way and then she told Lily and me not to say anything to anyone. But I don't know why they were here or what they actually do."

"I think they're fighting Voldemort," James said.

"Well, that does make sense," Remus said softly, no trace of sarcasm in his voice. "And so Sirius overheard all of this and came to the conclusion that Snape is leading Regulus to Voldemort?"

"Yeah," James confirmed.

Remus sighed. "He's probably right, at least, partially. I'm sure being a part of the Black family doesn't help."

James paused, thinking about the way Sirius could have been, if he hadn't been so desperate to rebel again his family. He thought about life without his best friend, without his brother, about how it could have been if Sirius had ended up being like Snape and Regulus, and in Slytherin. He sighed, pushing his plate away.

Remus, too, pushed away his plate. James looked at him questioningly.

"I'm not feeling too well today," Remus admitted.

The full moon was the next night, James knew, and he smiled at Remus. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, we'll be finished with the you-know-what tonight."

Remus smiled brightly. "That is good news!"

That evening, Sirius's odd silence continued, but he came out with them to finish the map. And though Remus was exhausted, he also ventured out with them as they snuck into each common room behind unsuspecting first years. Inside the Slytherin common room, James spied Snape with his friends, and Regulus, crowded around a table in a far corner. He felt Sirius tense next to him.

_Not here_, James mentally pleaded with his friend, who remained under the cloak, clenching and unclenching his fists. Peter returned from his quick tour of the Slytherin dorms, and crawled up James's trouser leg. The map now finished, the boys had to wait for someone to let them out of the common room, and once outside and safely away, they began to celebrate.

Even Sirius broke his strange silence to whoop and laugh and jump around with the rest. "It's finished!" he crowed.

"Almost," Remus said. "Let's go apply the last potion and charms, and _then_ we'll be done."

They hurried to the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor, where Moaning Myrtle sat on a sink and wept softly to herself.

"Boys in my bathroom!" she said, scandalized.

They ignored her, which only served to annoy her and make her weep louder.

"Myrtle," James said winningly. "Have you done something new with your hair?"

"Are you making fun of me?" she demanded, swooping across the bathroom and stopping in James's face. "Are you?"

"Leave the ghost alone, Prongs," Remus said, retrieving his potion vials and cauldron from where he'd stored them in the last stall.

While Myrtle continued to fuss and wail, Remus dropped the map into the cauldron and paused, looking around at the others. James met his gaze with a smile, barely able to breathe. They'd never gone to so much trouble on anything before, not even for their studies.

"This is it!" he said, uncorking the final vial.

He poured the potion onto the map, which smoked and hissed and was then silent. Still holding his breath, James reached into the cauldron and pulled out the map. He folded it open, suddenly confused. It was blank. "What the…?" he asked, showing the others.

Remus grinned and said clearly, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

James watched, hardly able to believe it, as words and images began to appear on the parchment.

"'Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder's Map!'" he read aloud, looking up at Remus in amazement. "That's great! Why didn't you tell us you were doing that?"

"It was a surprise," Remus said, looking pleased. "Do you like it?"

"It's brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed, glancing down over James's shoulder and briefly looking up at Remus. Then he turned away again quickly, and he didn't say anything again for some time. Remus shot him a confused look, but then bent to examine the map again.

James watched, enthralled, as the tiny figure that represented Filch, following behind an even more miniscule figure that represented his cat walked down a corridor. James let his eyes roam in the direction it appeared Filch was heading, and found the bathroom where he and his friends were represented by four little figures labeled with their names were huddled together.

"Oh!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Look!" He pointed to themselves on the map, and they bent in wonderment.

Suddenly Remus scrambled to his feet. "Mischief Managed!" he said hurriedly, gathering their supplies and Banishing them. "Filch is coming!" he told them, stuffing the map in his pocket and waiting for James to catch up and cover them with the cloak. Just in time, he draped it over them, and the bathroom door banged open, revealing an out of breath Filch, panting and wheezing as he leaned against the door.

"Where are they?" he demanded, looking around the bathroom wildly. He lurched forward, ripping open each stall door. James ushered the others toward the door, and when Filch was occupied with the last stall, he opened the door and they slipped out silently.

They heard Filch bellow angrily and they took off at a run, heading back to the common room.

"That was _brilliant!_" James repeated again, leaning against their dorm room door a few minutes later. "Bloody brilliant! This was the best idea ever, Moony!" He crossed the room, pacing without direction. He paused and glanced at the map, which the other boys were studying with interest. "Do you see that? Anyone we would want to see, on our map! We'll never have to worry about Filch again!"

They stayed up a good chunk of the night, watching Filch and the professors roaming the halls. James watched with interest as Dumbledore paced back and forth in his office, pausing occasionally before starting to roam again.

More interesting to James, however, was the presence of people who didn't belong at the castle, like Fabian and Gideon Prewett, or Marlene McKinnon, or Dorcas Meadows, who was motionless at the front gates of the castle.


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

The next morning, still half asleep, the boys escorted Remus to the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey was waiting for him.

"Feeling ill this morning, Mr. Lupin?" she inquired politely, smiling nervously at the other boys.

"I'm afraid I am," Remus replied tiredly, sinking onto the bed that Madam Pomfrey indicated.

"Well, never fear," the matron replied. "We'll have you right as rain in a day or two."

James and Peter bade Remus a farewell, and Sirius stepped forward, hugging him briefly, which surprised Remus, and the others as well. "Take care, Remus," Sirius said, averting his eyes and hurrying out of the room.

"What is with him?" Remus asked, looking bewildered.

"No idea," James replied, mystified.

Peter shrugged.

"Boys, shouldn't you be heading to breakfast?" Madam Pomfrey said pointedly.

"We should, of course, Madam," James said, smiling winningly. "Thank you for reminding us!"

* * *

"He won't remember; he never remembers," Sirius told himself, standing at the sink in the second floor girls' bathroom, unable to make himself look at his reflection. "It's for Regulus," he said forcefully. "And he won't remember!"

* * *

Classes that day passed without anything unusual happening, for which James was thankful. In between classes, he pulled out the map and studied it, and happened to see shortly after lunch, Madam Pomfrey escorting Remus down through the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow that led to the Shrieking Shack. He also happened to see, just before he put the map away, Sirius standing in the second floor girls' bathroom.

Well, that was odd.

* * *

"Where's your fourth little reject?" Snape drawled, his lips pursed unpleasantly.

James glared at Snape and continued to gather his potion ingredients, but Sirius hung back.

"He's sick," Peter defended, his small body quivering with barely contained anger.

"He's sick," Snape mimicked. "He's always sick. Every time I turn around, he's sick. He's like a girl, I swear. He's sick every month."

Sirius tensed, sensing how close Snape was to reasoning out the truth. _Not yet,_ Sirius thought. Snape couldn't figure it out yet. Not until later, when it would be too late.

Apparently, James also sensed danger, because he quickly snapped, "Maybe he's sick because he keeps sitting too close to you. I know the smell of you is certainly turning my stomach. Maybe if you washed occasionally, you wouldn't smell so foul."

"Or be so greasy," Peter added.

"Or have such grimy pants," Sirius said, going for the kill.

Snape flushed for a moment, his eyes narrowing.

Professor Slughorn chose that moment to appear in the potion's cupboard, his jovial smile not reaching his eyes. "Have your supplies, boys? Excellent. Return to your seats, now." It wasn't a suggestion, it was a command, and shooting Snape one last look, Sirius followed James back to their desk.

James wasn't concentrating on their potion, it was clear, but then again, neither was Sirius. But while Sirius could see that James was too busy watching Lily, who was working diligently, her red hair pulled back in a neat knot at the back of her neck except for one lock which had worked itself loose and fell in front of her face causing her to continually tuck it behind her ear, Sirius himself was too distracted thinking about what he was going to say to Snape at the end of the lesson.

At the end of class, the potion he and James had made smelled of rotten eggs and was a putrid shade of green instead of the clear blue it was supposed to be, but with a sigh, Sirius poured some into a vial and headed for Slughorn's desk.

Afterward, Sirius hung back, claiming he wanted to discuss what went wrong with their potion with Slughorn, a claim which James clearly did not buy but wasn't going to argue. He watched as his friends shuffled off together, likely to go take a nap and prepare for the first transformation of the year.

Snape emerged from the classroom, deep in discussion with one of his friends.

"Snape!" Sirius barked, stepping forward.

Snape whirled, his wand drawn, and Sirius held up his hands. "I have a proposition for you," he said.

Snape regarded him, his eyes narrowed. "Very well," he said after a moment.

"Alone," Sirius said, nodding to Avery.

After another moment, Snape nodded and said something in an undertone to Avery, who glared at Sirius before he turned and hurried on his way.

"Now we're alone. What did you want?" Snape said, his wand still in his hand.

"I want you to leave my brother alone," Sirius told him, stepping forward to close the distance.

Snape snorted. "That's far too maudlin for you, Black. Leave your brother alone? Is that what you want from me? Why should I do this for you? What have you done for me, or your brother, but make our lives miserable?"

"I have not made his life miserable!" Sirius denied hotly.

"Your existence makes his life miserable," Snape said in a slicing whisper as a group of students walked past.

"I want you to leave him alone!" Sirius repeated, feeling his face flush.

"And I want to know why I should do it? What's in it for me? You said you had a proposition. Surely, even you know a proposition involves give and take."

Sirius took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"There's a secret passage under the Whomping Willow. If you go down through it tonight, you'll see something."

"You're trying to get me killed," Snape snorted, and Sirius stopped breathing for a moment. "The Whomping Willow? I'll be dead before I get anywhere near this supposed secret passage that will take me to see 'something'."

"You wanted to know where Remus was," Sirius said quickly. "If you go through that passage, you'll find him. There's a knob at the base of the tree, a knot. If you poke it with a stick, the tree stops moving and you can get into the passage."

Snape continued to stare at him, his eyes unblinking. "And for this information, you want me to leave your brother alone?"

"Yes," Sirius said hotly.

Snape shook his head. "You need to learn to make better deals, Black." Then without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving Sirius alone in a mixture of emotions.

* * *

"Come _on_, Padfoot!" James urged, kicking at the bathroom door. "Did you die in there?"

Sirius's muffled reply came through the door, but James didn't understand what he'd said.

"We're going to be late getting through the tunnel," James continued on, pausing to look out the window. It was fully dark now, and it was only a matter of minutes until the moon rose. Remus would be wondering where they were. They hadn't missed a transformation since they'd become Animagi, and James didn't want this one to be the first time they did.

Peter huffed and sat down on his bed. "He's worse than a girl," he muttered, his feet swinging off the end of his bed.

James pulled out the Marauder's Map, still feeling immensely proud every time he opened it. He examined the common room and saw Lily sitting by herself at a table. Further examination showed the same strange people at various entrances to the castle and the grounds, and James was very curious how it was nobody else had seen them to comment on their presence. And what were they doing in the castle, anyway?

Out at the edge of the map, he suddenly saw something that made his blood go cold: a tiny figure labeled Severus Snape, in the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, where in just minutes, there would be a full-fledged werewolf.

"Oh, Merlin…" James breathed, feeling his heart thump sickeningly in his chest. He swore, stuffing the map into his pocket and glancing out the window. He'd never make it in time.

"We have to go now!" he yelled, flinging open the door and racing down the stairs. He heard Peter and Sirius behind him, calling his name, thundering down the stairs in his wake. He exploded into the common room and rushed out through the portrait hole, not even stopping to check if his friends were still behind him.

"James!" he heard Peter gasping behind him as he sprinted through the corridors. "James, what's wrong?"

"Snape!" James shouted over his shoulder. "Snape in the tunnel!"

"_Snape?_" Peter cried.

"IN THE TUNNEL!" James roared, furious and frightened all at once. If Snape saw, if Snape couldn't escape, if Snape did get away… all the possibilities were too horrific to consider. First and foremost, however, James knew he had to get there, and he had to stop Remus before he did something he'd hate himself for forever.


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Down the main staircase, out across the lawn, down to the Whomping Willow… James didn't stop to think until he reached the violently churning limbs of the tree. Without pausing, however, Peter rushed forward, transforming as he went, and triggered the knot that stilled the branches.

James dove down into the entryway, changing into the stag as he went. He'd make better time that way. He ducked his head down, for once cursing his antlers, which were banging painfully against the sides of the tunnel as he galloped along.

Somewhere far ahead in the tunnel, he heard the echo of a howl of pain, and he knew they'd missed the start of the transformation.

The wolf, he had to stop the wolf. Even if Remus wouldn't remember attacking Snape, he would know about it when he came back into his human form; what was more, everyone else would know too, and Remus's life would be over. Prongs could not let that happen.

He concentrated on the pounding noise his hooves made in the soft, root riddled earth, seeing a distant light in the distance growing. He heard the dog barking behind him and a shout of fear ahead of him, and he saw a boy trapped at the exit of the tunnel. Then a piercing howl echoed through the tunnel and Prongs knew the transformation was complete and the wolf had smelled human flesh.

_NO!_ Prongs thought, his heart racing in his chest. This could not happen. He exploded past Snape, who was frozen at the trap door at the end of the tunnel, and came upon the werewolf, hunched down and ready to pounce.

_NO!_ Prongs leapt in front of the wolf, who looked startled at his arrival. He lowered his head, brandishing his aching antlers. The wolf dove at him, and he rushed forward, antlers poised. He felt the razor sharp claws dig into his neck, and he grunted in pain, but he drove his head forward, pinning the wolf against the wall. The claws raked across his back and the pain was blinding, but he held the wolf in place. He heard rapid barking and knew the dog had arrived.

He couldn't turn his head to see if Snape had fled yet or if he'd stayed like the idiotic git that he was, but as the wolf's claws once more dug into his neck, he was forced to let go. The wolf fell to the floor, panting, and the dog raced forward, nipping playfully at the wolf's heels. The wolf jumped to its feet at once, looking from the dog to the tunnel entrance, and Prongs turned his aching head to see that the boy had fled. Shuddering slightly, the stag leaned his body against the wall and watched the wolf chase after the dog, the smell of human forgotten.

But Prongs knew the human could not be forgotten, and he turned and rushed back through the tunnel, overtaking Snape halfway through. Snape yelled in fear when Prongs shoved him forward with his antlers. Before they reached the end of the tunnel, James transformed back to his human self, still running, and Snape looked at him, dawning disgust on his face.

"Prongs," he spat, realization crossing his face.

"Shut up and keep moving," James gasped, feeling lightheaded.

Just before they made it to the tunnel entrance, they ran into Professor Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, and Peter, who looked guilty and terrified at the same time.

"Were you bitten? Are you alright?" Madam Pomfrey gasped, and James shook his head, feeling woozy.

"Just scratched," James gasped, collapsing against the side of the tunnel. The world slid to blackness, and the last thing James saw before the darkness claimed him was the horrified expression on Snape's face.

* * *

Prongs raced down the tunnel, hearing the wolf howling and screams of pain. He was too late! He hadn't been fast enough, and now his friend's life would be ruined. And Snape, even if he was a git, he didn't deserve this.

No matter how fast he ran, it seemed like he wasn't getting any closer to the screams of pain, which grew in intensity and volume, until they echoed through the tunnel and in his ears like a maddening white noise.

Suddenly, he found himself in the ground floor of the Shrieking Shack, and the walls were bathed in brilliant Gryffindor red blood. But instead of Snape, it was Sirius that James saw, scratched and bitten and bloody on the floor, unmoving.

"No!" he shouted.

"Prongs, you awake?"

The voice cut through James's dream, and he blinked his eyes open, confused. His body ached and he was in an unfamiliar bed.

"Prongs?"

The voice was loud in his ear and he focused on the blurry figure next to his bed. He felt his glasses being pressed into his hand, and he slid them on, the world coming into focus.

Sirius sat next to his bed, looking horribly guilty. All at once, things slid into place.

"You told him, didn't you," James stated, not asking. "You told Snape to go down into the tunnel."

Sirius swallowed heavily and nodded.

Rage built in James's chest. "Why did you do that?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"I wanted to scare Snape. I wanted him to leave Reg alone," Sirius blurted, looking mortified.

"Did you stop to think that maybe Moony could have bitten Snape, or killed him?" James asked, propping himself up on his elbows and glaring at Sirius. Sirius shook his head, dropping his eyes to his hands, which he wrung in his lap. James didn't believe him.

"Did you think about how Moony would have taken that? What would have happened to him if he'd bitten or killed Snape?" he continued, his voice growing louder with every word.

Again, Sirius shook his head. "I didn't mean for that to happen, honestly, Prongs. I just wanted to scare him into leaving Reg alone!"

"You disgust me," James enunciated slowly. "You weren't thinking of anyone but yourself. Snape could have been killed. _I_ could have been killed." His hand went to his neck, where he felt bandages still in place. "And Moony. You didn't think about Moony."

"I – I…" Sirius started helplessly.

"Just go away, Black."

"Prongs," Sirius said, hurt.

"Didn't you hear me? I said get the hell away from me!"

Sirius stood abruptly, breathing heavily. "They're talking about expelling me!" he blurted.

"Good," James spat, furious. "Maybe that'll teach you not to be such a git."

"I thought you were my friend!" Sirius yelled.

"And I thought you were mine!" James roared back. "But you nearly got me killed!"

"I'm sorry!" Sirius shouted, tears quivering at the corners of his eyes.

"That's not good enough!" James shouted back.

Madam Pomfrey appeared, Professor Dumbledore trailing behind her.

"Mr. Black, you're upsetting my patient and disturbing my ward," Madam Pomfrey said loudly. "I must ask you to leave."

"Fine!" Sirius growled, turning on his heel and storming out of the room. James flopped back onto his bed and closed his eyes, feeling them welling with tears of his own.

There were several moments of silence, and then James felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder. He sniffled slightly and opened his eyes again. Dumbledore sat in the chair next to his bed, his kindly blue eyes gazing down at him.

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore began.

"Professor," James said, "What happened with Snape?"

"Mr. Snape has agreed to remain quiet about what he has seen. Everything that he saw, apparently. He won't tell us what precisely happened, but I've managed to gather that Mr. Black informed him that he would see something interesting if he went down into the tunnel, and you managed to stop him just in time." Dumbledore shifted slightly in his seat, running a hand down his beard. "Is that what happened?"

"Something like that," James answered evasively.

"Mr. Snape is quite angry with Mr. Black," Dumbledore said.

"Well, he should be," James replied, touching the bandages on his neck again.

"And it appears you are rather upset as well."

"Don't you think I have the right to be?" James demanded, staring at the headmaster in disbelief.

"You have every right to be upset. But Mr. Black appears to be genuinely sorry about what happened," Dumbledore said kindly.

James didn't reply; instead, he turned his head away and closed his eyes. Sirius wasn't sorry about what happened, he was sorry he'd been caught.

"I'll let you get your rest, but there are several people who are anxious to see you," the professor said, standing slowly from his seat. "Miss Evans, in particular, has been in to check on you several times today."

James's eyes flew open again and he turned to regard the headmaster, who smiled knowingly at him.

"She appeared quite worried," Dumbledore continued. "I believe she left you some sweets on the bedside table."

James turned his head and saw a small Honeydukes' package on the table, and in spite of himself, he felt a small smile spread across his face.

The headmaster took his leave then, and James closed his eyes, feeling sleep coming to claim him again. He hoped his dreams would be more pleasant, this time.


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Yellowwolf was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

James awoke again a bit later. Light was streaming in through a window near the left side of his bed, so he figured it was mid-afternoon, judging by the brilliant sunlight. He glanced around. A new letter had been placed on his bedside table. He recognized Sirius's fairly untidy scribble. He sighed. What Sirius had done was pretty unforgivable. He had used Remus and James himself could've been hurt worse than he had been. Sirius hadn't thought when he acted. Sure, Snape was a git, but that didn't excuse anything. If Snape hadn't agreed to stay quiet, the whole school would've known about Remus. He couldn't even think about what would happen if parents started finding out. They wouldn't like it, he was sure about that much. They would most likely be afraid that one of their children might get bitten. No, Sirius's action had been irresponsible.

Yet he reached for the envelope and tore it open.

_I'm sorry, Prongs. What more do you want me to say? I didn't think about what I was doing and I know it was wrong now. Please, please don't let this ruin our friendship. I can't lose any more family._

He remembered the expression on Sirius's face as he listened to his mother's howler, and as James's own mother welcomed him to the family, and deep inside, he felt the stirrings of pity. But then he remembered the way Sirius had been acting, leading up to the night before, guilty and secretive – he must have been planning for days. And now he wanted forgiveness. James just didn't think he could give it so quickly, so easily. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to give it.

James was so focused on the letter that he didn't hear the footsteps coming closer.

"James?"

James's eyes shot up from the letter and he saw Lily standing next to his bed. She looked quite uncertain and nervous.

"Hi," he greeted her, smiling uncertainly.

She smiled a bit and sat down in the chair next to his bed.

"I heard you were injured. How are you?" She appeared genuinely worried, and that very much pleased James. At least some good had come out of this disaster. He briefly thought about making his injuries sound worse than they actually were, but then decided against it. If Lily found out about that, she'd most likely never speak to him again and he couldn't and wouldn't risk that.

"I'm still a bit sore in my neck," he said, rubbing the bandage there. "My back is sore, too, but it could've been worse."

She nodded. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Lily averted her gaze. He could see a faint blush appear on her cheeks and he decided he liked to see her blush. It was quite cute.

"What's going on between you and Sirius? I went to ask him how you were doing and he told me you were mad at him for something."

James blinked and found his fists clenching. "He almost got me killed, that's why I'm mad at him. If he hadn't been so stupid, I wouldn't be in here."

"I know what happened."

"What do you mean?" James asked shocked, suddenly clenching the letter quite tightly.

"Remus told me what happened, he told me you saved Sev."

"Well, I didn't quite do it for him, to be honest. I did it for Remus," James said. "So, that means you know he's a …"

"Werewolf?" Lily whispered. "Yeah, he told me at the beginning of the school year after I asked him if he would be so sick again this year. I'd suspected, of course, because he was always absent during a full moon. When he saw I knew, he just came clean and told me. This morning, he told me the full story on what happened last night."

"Sirius screwed up, that's what happened." James said angrily, taking the letter between his two hands and reducing it to a nice round ball before he tossed it back on his bedside table. "Thanks for the sweets by the way," he said, grinning as his eye fell on the half empty box.

Lily blushed slightly and said, "You're welcome. You shouldn't stay mad at Sirius, James. What he did was wrong, obviously but you should see him, he's absolutely miserable. He needs you guys." Her eyes were almost pleading for him to say he would forgive his friend.

He looked away from Lily, unable to meet her eyes any longer. "I can't forgive him yet, Lily."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her nodding. She stood and brushed off her robes self-consciously. "I should get going, let you rest up a bit."

He turned back to look at her and nodded slowly. He regretted that she had to leave so soon; she had only just arrived. "Bye."

He watched her leave the room. He loved the way she walked. She always seemed to sway her hips slightly. He wasn't sure whether she did it on purpose or not, but he didn't care. He loved seeing her walk; he loved how her hair moved in tune with her step. He really had it bad this time.

* * *

It was two more days before James was released from the hospital wing. He missed the group detention between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins, but by the end of those two exceptionally long days, he would have welcomed detention with the Slytherins.

"Now, you are to take it easy, Mr. Potter. Those are cursed wounds and they take much longer to heal," Madam Pomfrey told him for the sixth time.

"I know," James said, heaving an exasperated sigh.

"That means no sudden movements, no running or exerting yourself, and definitely no Quidditch."

James's head shot up and he gaped at the Medi-witch in dismay.

"No Quidditch?" he exclaimed, aghast. "But practices start this week!"

"You are not allowed on a broom for one week, Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey told him sternly.

Fuming silently, James left the hospital wing, breathing a sigh of relief as he entered the corridor outside. His stomach chose that moment to give an angry growl, and he realized that in spite of everything, he was quite hungry. He glanced at his watch and saw he still had plenty of time to make it to breakfast, and then he'd run – no, _walk_ – up to the common room to grab his textbooks and supplies.

When he entered the Great Hall, all students sitting at the tables turned to look at him. Peter and Remus had told him that the entire school knew he had been injured somehow, but they didn't know just how, thankfully. The Marauders didn't care to elaborate, either. The rumor, Peter told him while Remus stared hard at his hands, was that James had gone wandering in the Forbidden Forest and had been mauled by an Acromantula.

James searched the Gryffindor table and spotted Remus and Sirius sitting quite a distance from each other, with Remus in the middle and Sirius at the far end. James couldn't blame his werewolf friend for ignoring the other boy. What he had done was quite unforgivable.

"Hey, Potter!"

James turned to look at the seventh year Hufflepuff. "Yeah?"

"I heard you fought off a giant spider!"

James just shrugged. "Lovely weather we're having, don't you think?" he asked, changing the subject. He reckoned that was safer than making up a story, because knowing himself, he just might let something slip, and he didn't want to risk that.

The Hufflepuff smirked as if he'd received his confirmation, and headed back to his table. James turned and walked towards the Gryffindor table. Remus stood from his seat, as did Sirius at the near end of the table.

Sirius tried to make eye contact with James. "Prongs," he began, but James looked beyond him to Remus and Peter, who were both studiously ignoring the other boy. "James," Sirius tried again, looking distraught.

James brushed past him, jerking his arm away as Sirius tried to touch him. "Hey, guys," James said, walking up to Remus and Peter.

"Hey, Prongs, how are you?" Remus greeted, smiling sadly at him.

"Not too bad," James answered honestly.

"Thank Merlin you were there to stop me. I don't think I could've lived with myself if I had hurt that git," Remus said once again, looking down at his plate. He looked quite guilty.

"You didn't, and that's what matters," James said firmly.

"But I did hurt you," Remus sighed, looking back up to him with bright eyes.

"And that's not your fault," James soothed, carefully patting Remus's back. "You didn't know what you were doing and no one can blame you for what you did. The only one to blame is Sirius for being so bloody stupid."

"Not so loud, Prongs," Remus hissed, noticing several heads in their neighborhood had turned to listen.

"Right, right," James said quietly, running a hand through his very messy black hair. He could feel Sirius's eyes on him but he didn't turn to look. He decided to not discuss it any further now that he was sure people were listening. Instead, he focused on all the delicious food on the table. His stomach gave a loud grumble that even Remus could hear. The other boy chuckled.

"You better eat."

"Best idea I've heard all day," James said, smiling as he loaded his plate with everything he could reach. Within fifteen minutes, he was done. Most of the Great Hall was empty now. James took a quick look around. Sirius hadn't left his seat yet, and was watching him talking with Remus and Peter, a despondent look on his face. James looked away.

There were five Hufflepuffs, a dozen Ravenclaws and a group of Slytherins, among them Snape, who, James noticed, didn't look all that well. At that moment, Snape turned his head a bit and noticed him watching. He glared coldly at James, and James glared right back. That git should show a bit more gratitude. After all, James had been the one to save his sorry Slytherin arse. Granted, he hadn't done it for Snape, he'd done it for Remus. But still, he had risked his own life.

"Let's go to the common room to grab our stuff," James suggested, patting his now full stomach. Remus and Peter nodded their agreement and together they walked out of the Great Hall, ignoring Sirius.

The corridors were fairly quiet as they made their way towards the Gryffindor common room. Several portraits greeted them on the way or asked James what had happened to him. James shook his head in amazement. Even the portraits knew he'd been injured.

The group of boys ducked behind a tapestry off to the left and entered a corridor which was devoid of paintings, and that suited them all just fine. The chatter of the portraits could definitely get on one's nerves.

"Prongs, Moony, Wormtail!" Sirius called from behind them. They didn't stop walking, but they heard footsteps rapidly approaching. Not more than a few seconds later, Sirius caught up with them.

"Guys, please, I'm sorry. What more do you want me to say?" James could hear the pleading tone in Sirius's voice, but James couldn't feel any sympathy for him. And judging from the expression on Remus's face, the werewolf couldn't, either.

"There's really nothing you can say, Black," James said coldly. Sirius visibly flinched at the use of his last name. "You screwed up, badly." Even though James kept his voice fairly calm, he could feel anger boiling up inside of him once more. If Sirius didn't walk away now, James knew he would start yelling, and perhaps throwing a curse or two, and he was sure that wouldn't be pretty.

"I know!" Sirius said loudly, "I know, but I -"

"_I,_ indeed," James interrupted, "Did you ever stop to think about what your little stunt would do to all of us? First of all, you would've let Moony hurt Snape, in which case he would've been exposed to the whole school, not to mention what it would do to him-"

"I know!" Sirius yelled, exasperated.

James ignored him and just continued, "Secondly, we're damned lucky that Dumbledore didn't ask how exactly we knew that Snape had followed Remus into the tunnel, or how we managed to get him back out. What if he'd found out we were animagi, or about the Marauder's map? What if the entire school found out about the map? What if some Slytherins got a hold of it? Then this school would be a piece of cake to get into it."

Sirius looked taken aback. He obviously hadn't thought about that. "I just wanted to scare Snape so he would leave Reg alone," Sirius said once more, looking at the ground.

"So, you decided you would just risk the lives of your best friends?" Remus barked.

Sirius's head snapped up, his eyes were wide and shining with tears, which had formed in the corners of his eyes. "I didn't mean for that to happen! I helped distract you!"

"What does it matter?" James exploded. "You sent Snape into that tunnel, knowing full well Remus would hurt – perhaps even kill him – if he smelled him. You betrayed our trust! Do you honestly expect us to forgive you, just like that? Saying you're sorry doesn't cut it this time!"

Remus stepped forward, his eyes glinting, and he said coolly, "You're very lucky, Sirius, that James found out in time. Because if I had hurt Snape, I would never have forgiven you. I don't even know if I can now." James stared at his werewolf friend, seeing a side of him he hadn't seen before. With the ferocious look in his eyes, James suddenly could see the wolf, hovering just at the back of Remus's stare.

Sirius looked crestfallen.

"Let's go," James curtly said to Remus, and after one last withering glare at his so-called friend, he resolutely turned his back on him and walked away. Remus followed.

Sirius didn't try to follow them again; as a matter of fact, they didn't see him for the rest of the day. He didn't turn up for any lessons, and no one but James, Remus and Peter knew where he was. They checked their map to make sure he was still on Hogwarts grounds and saw him in the girls' bathroom on the second floor, but none of the three went to him. He didn't deserve their pity.

But that night, Sirius still hadn't returned, and as James made ready to go to bed, he glanced over at Sirius's untouched bed. Slightly concerned in spite of himself, James checked the map once more. Sirius was still in the bathroom that Moaning Myrtle haunted. James dropped the map to his lap with a sigh. He couldn't quite figure out why Sirius would want to stay there all that time, but he was too bloody stubborn to go check. He still didn't quite want to be in the same room with his friend, not yet.

Just before James crawled into bed, he remembered he'd left one of his books down on a table in the common room, and he headed down to fetch it. As he entered the room, he felt a new pair of eyes on him. When he turned to look, he was not terribly surprised to see Lily glaring at him.

They hadn't spoken at all that day, but he had continually felt her eyes on him. She'd been glaring at him whenever he saw her. He didn't understand women. What Sirius had done couldn't be excused, yet she was all for them making up and pretending nothing had ever happened. He wouldn't have expected that of her. He would've expected her to be more sympathetic towards Remus than towards Sirius, but he supposed Lily and Sirius had gotten quite close.

Once more, James was left to wonder whether there wasn't more going on between them than both of them led everyone to believe. He realized it was a stupid thought, that Sirius had told him it wasn't the case. And he had seen that conversation on the swings between Sirius and Lily. But still, he couldn't shake off the feeling.

With book, James retreated back up the stairs to his dorm. He was turning back the covers to his bed when there was a knock on the door. Peter opened it, and then stepped out of the way as Lily barged into the room. "Where's Sirius?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Don't know," James answered shortly. "Don't care."

"Don't you think you should perhaps go look for him?" Lily asked, narrowing her eyes.

"No, not really. He's a grown boy, he can take care of himself," Remus cut in.

"Guys, this is stupid!" Lily said, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. "You can't stay mad at him forever!"

"You know," James answered casually, "we can, and we will." Lily sighed and sat down on Sirius's unused bed.

"He's your best friend!"

"He nearly got me killed!" James repeated loudly, his hand going to his bandaged neck. "Remember that little detail?"

"Can you blame him for wanting to protect his brother?"

"No, I can't," James started. "But I can blame him for being so stupid to think that Remus would finish his dirty work for him."

Lily heaved a sigh, brushing a wayward strand of hair out of her face. For once, James didn't really notice. "I don't disagree with you guys and you have every right to be angry, but you were such good friends. You can't let that go to waste."

James turned his back, pretending to be interested with fluffing his pillows. He realized she might have a point, but still… Sirius had betrayed their trust, and trust was hard to earn back.

"Well, goodnight, then. I guess _I'll_ go hunt for Sirius, since you can't be bothered," she announced, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Sirius sat on the dirty floor of the bathroom, feeling more miserable than ever. It was nearing midnight and his friends hadn't come to look for him. He had hoped that they would get worried when he didn't turn up for classes, that they would check the map to see where he was and come to him, demanding why he wasn't in class, but no one had shown up, except for Moaning Myrtle, but she didn't quite count.

He knew he had screwed up and he would do everything – anything – to make it right, but for the first time, he had to face the facts that perhaps he couldn't fix this. How could he have been so stupid? He had thought Remus wouldn't remember and while he was right there, he would've known anyway. And James … it was because of him his best friend had ended up in the hospital wing with cursed claw marks in his neck and all over his back. It would've been his fault if James had gotten hurt worse, and he was going to have to live with that knowledge for the rest of his life.

James had taken him in after his parents turned him out, had been there for him the entire time, and this was how he repaid him? By betraying his trust and nearly getting him killed? He really was a lousy friend. A tear slid down his cheek, followed soon by more. He'd known that when his parents gave him up, so long as he had his friends, he'd be able to get through it. Now he had lost them, too. His life couldn't get any worse.


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Tiffany and Pennilyn Novus were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine **

The next morning, James awoke to the bright sunshine that was streaming through the window curtains.

_What a beautiful day_, he thought to himself.

_Perhaps me, Sirius, Remus, and Peter can all take our brooms for a spin_… Then, he remembered what had happened as he raised his hand to scratch at his neck and felt the bandages there. His pleasant, sleepy thoughts quickly dispersed.

All of the events of the past few days rushed back to him like a curse shot from a wand. He glanced over at Sirius's bed, seeing the curtains hanging open and the bed as unslept in as it had been the night before. James quickly dressed before waking up Remus and Peter.

"Guys!" he whispered. "Sirius still isn't back yet."

The other two boys rubbed their eyes and yawned.

"W-what, Prongs?" asked Remus, not quite understanding what James was saying.

"Sirius ... I think he's still in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He's probably been in there all night ... Do you thing we should go check on him? See how he is, and stuff?" asked James uncertainly.

"Prongs, he hasn't slept here in days," Peter complained, yawning widely.

"Yeah," Remus said, looking concerned, "but before, he camped out in the common room. He never spent the night in a bathroom before."

Peter frowned thoughtfully. "He might be sick, or maybe hurt."

James glanced at Peter, disturbed by the slightly excited tone in his friend's voice.

Peter continued, "I mean, who else stays in a bathroom – especially that bathroom – for that long?"

"Maybe we should just pop in for a minute and make sure he's still alive in there," Remus said, trying to sound like he was joking, and failing miserably.

Alarmed, James followed Remus and Peter as they trampled out of the Gryffindor common room, and headed for Myrtle's bathroom.

* * *

"Wake up!" came a sing-songy voice. 

Sirius blinked as he felt cold water splash on his face. "Prongs?" he asked drowsily.

"No!" an outraged voice greeted him.

"Where ... where am I?" he asked wearily.

"You're in my bathroom," protested the same voice.

"Myrtle?" Sirius gaped, uncurling himself and sitting up painfully. He glanced around at the dank décor, feeling the now familiar misery settling anew into his bones. He was still in the bathroom, and they hadn't come looking for him. He had reckoned – well, hoped – that he and James would be close enough for James's concern to outweigh his anger. He supposed he was wrong again.

"You've been in here the whole night!" Myrtle told him excitedly. "You were talking in your sleep. Shouting things out like 'don't hurt him' and 'I'm sorry'. I tried to wake you up, but you just shifted and kept on sleeping."

"Has anybody been in the bathroom? Anybody at all?" he asked, hoping against hope that maybe they'd come and checked on him while he'd been asleep.

Myrtle began to look a bit miffed. "Of course! I have plenty of friends, I'll have you know. And they always come and visit me..."

Sirius looked at her in frustration. "I meant, did anybody come in here looking for me?"

"Oh, just be selfish. Just because I'm a ghost, you assume I don't have any friends? You assume too much!"

Tears began to well up in her eyes, before she began to bawl. She flew to a nearby toilet stall and dove into the toilet, sending a wave of stagnant water splashing onto the floor.

Sirius groaned. His head hurt and he was hungry. And nobody had come to look for him at all.

"I thought they'd be my friends forever. What happened to that?" he said sadly to himself.

"Maybe you should look for them, instead of hiding out in the bathroom."

Sirius jumped, and he found Lily standing at the door.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

Lily stepped into the bathroom, and sat down next to Sirius on the dusty floor.

"I was getting a bit worried. I told your friends to look for you, but I'm not sure if they took my advice..." she said, biting her lip.

"Some friends they are!"

"Hey, you have to remember, you hurt them just as much as they are hurting you."

Sirius nodded, his head hanging. "I suppose..."

Lily sighed, pointing her wand at Sirius and quickly cleaning his robes. Businesslike, she said, "Why don't you just go and talk to them? After all ... they've been your friends forever. You have to get them to understand your side of the story. I know Sev – I mean, Snape – can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, so I sort of understand why you'd be so angry and upset at him," she said.

Sirius gave Lily a tiny smile, before getting up off the ground, and brushing off the remaining pieces of lint from his clothing.

He gave Lily a hand, and helped her get up. As she was about to lead him out of the bathroom, Sirius quickly gave her a hug.

"Thanks for caring about me, Lily," he whispered, feeling tears prickling his eyelids.

"I'm your friend, too," Lily said, returning his tight hug. Then she pulled away and smiled at him. "I can hear your stomach growling from here. Come have breakfast with me." She tugged on his hand lightly.

Feeling a tiny bit better, Sirius allowed Lily to drag him by the hand out of the bathroom, and down towards the Great Hall.

* * *

"I'm sure it's not what it looks like, Prongs," Remus said quietly as they stared at the map, at the two small figures of Lily and Sirius embracing in the bathroom. They were just around the corner from the bathroom, and it was all the other boys could do to hold James back. 

Remus didn't want to believe that Sirius would compound his mistake by stealing the girl James liked, but then again, he'd never have believed that Sirius would have used him as a way to scare, or hurt, or possibly kill, Snape. Sirius clearly wasn't thinking these days.

"I'm going to kill him," James said, struggling against the hold Remus and Peter had on him.

"No, you won't," Remus said soothingly. "Because there's nothing going on. They're just two friends hugging."

James broke free and took off around the corner, and Remus and Peter rushed to catch him. But James stopped short in the corridor, his shoulders slumping. Remus watched in disbelief as Sirius and Lily walked toward the main staircase, hand in hand.

* * *

"And how do you know if you're being attacked by a vampire?" Professor Blinkerton asked the class. 

James sat at the back of the room with Remus, who was studiously taking notes and keeping his head down. James stared straight ahead at the back of Sirius's head. Sirius was sitting three rows up, next to Lily.

Avery raised his hand languidly. "Because it's sucking your blood?" he answered in a bored tone.

Blinkerton cocked his head slightly to the side and stared at the Slytherin, a mixed expression of pity and annoyance on his face.

James waited for Lily to raise her hand, but she didn't. She nudged Sirius slightly, and he roused somewhat, shaking his head.

"Anyone else want to hazard a guess?" Blinkerton looked positively perplexed now. Normally, James and his friends, along with Lily, continually had their hands in the air. Normally, James found Defense Against the Dark Arts to be his favorite class. Normally, his former best mate wasn't walking around the school holding hands with James's girl.

_She's not your girl_, he reminded himself. But she should have been.

Blinkerton sighed and returned to his desk. "Is there something I should know about?" he asked, kicking his feet up as he sat down at the desk. "Has something happened that you would all care to discuss?"

Nobody said anything.

Without warning, Blinkerton raised his wand and pointed it at Sirius, saying, "_Accio_ parchment!"

Sirius let out a yelp of surprise as a piece of parchment ripped out of his hands and flew to the front of the desk.

"Passing notes or taking notes, Mr. Black?" Blinkerton asked, turning over the piece of parchment and reading it. He was silent for a long moment, and then he glanced up. James didn't think he was imagining it when Blinkerton's gaze traveled back to him before focusing on Sirius once more.

"See me after this lesson, Mr. Black," he said in a tone that left James wondering what sort of trouble Sirius was going to be in now. Then he remembered he didn't care.

Just like he didn't care that the headmaster had decided not to expel Sirius, but had curtailed all of his activities and extracurriculars, as well as giving him weekly detentions with Filch until the Christmas holidays. No, he didn't care at all.

Especially not since he planned to kill Sirius for stealing Lily, first chance he got.

* * *

"Mr. Black," Professor Blinkerton said once the classroom had emptied out. "Am I to understand that you've had a falling out with your friends?" 

Sirius slumped down in his seat, staring at the worn wooden desk in front of him.

"I'll take your silence, and your note, as a yes."

Sirius sighed and hoped the professor would just assign him punishment and let him be on his way.

"Sirius," Blinkerton said in an understanding voice.

Raising his eyes slightly, Sirius watched Blinkerton walk around his desk and come to a halt in front of him.

"I'll ask that you pay attention in class from now on," the professor said, handing the note back to Sirius. "We live in dark and uncertain times, and this knowledge could save your life one day."

Sirius nodded mutely.

"And I want you to know that my office door is always open, should you need a friendly ear to listen."

Sirius looked up, surprised, but Blinkerton was already heading back to his desk.

"You'd better hurry or you'll miss lunch," Blinkerton said, glancing over his shoulder with an understanding smile.

Sirius stood, gathering his books, and headed for the door. But he stopped just shy of leaving and turned around. "Professor," he said. "What if they never forgive me?"

"They will, Sirius," Blinkerton said. "I don't think I've ever seen such a tight-knit group of friends. They're missing you too, no doubt."


	30. Chapter Thirty

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty**

As James was leaving the common room that afternoon, Lily stopped him. He refused to look at her; instead, he stared resolutely at the spot of floor to her left.

"Potter," she said tentatively. "Sirius misses you. He's sorry. What's it going to take?"

James didn't respond, afraid of what he might say if he opened his mouth.

"Potter," she tried again. "James, would you look at me?"

James raised his head defiantly and glared at her. She looked startled by the venom in his gaze. "Awfully concerned about Black, aren't you?" he snarled at her.

She wrinkled her brow in confusion. "He's my friend. Of course I'm concerned about him."

"You two seem to be getting mighty chummy," James continued flatly, feeling the bubble of anger churning just below the last shred of control he had. _Must not yell at Lily_, he told himself.

Lily rolled her eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh. "He's my friend," she repeated. "And seeing as all of his other friends have abandoned him – "

James pushed past her, clenching his jaw.

"Where are you going?" Lily snapped at him.

"To the Quidditch Pitch, not that it's any of your business," James growled at her, not stopping.

She hurried to catch up to him, anger written all over her face. "So, what, now you're mad at me too?" she asked, cutting in front of him and making him sidestep her.

James didn't answer. He lowered his gaze and met her challenging stare.

"You _are_ mad at me," she said, sounding somewhat surprised. James dodged around her again and continued to stride down the corridor to the main staircase. Lily rushed after him, nearly running to keep up.

"Care to tell me what I've done to make you mad at me, now?" Lily asked sarcastically.

Before he could stop himself, James whirled, causing her to nearly run into him. She drew up short.

"I like you, Lily," James blurted. "I like everything about you. Even when I'm mad at you. And if you don't know that I like you, you aren't nearly as smart as everyone says you are."

She stared at him, her mouth hanging open.

"I – " she began, but James cut her off.

"I don't know what you're doing with Black, or what he's doing with you, but if you two are getting together, I really don't want to be around you anymore."

Lily gasped out one surprised laugh. "Me and Sirius?" she said loudly. She crossed her arms in front of her, looking angrier than James had ever seen her. "For one thing, Potter, it isn't any of your business if I get together with anyone. You can like me all you want, but that doesn't give you claim on me."

"It does with my best mate!" James erupted.

"Oh, so now he's your best mate again?" she shot back, taking a step forward.

"No – yes, he was, and he knows I like you, so if he really wanted to be my friend again, he wouldn't be getting together with you!"

"Not that it's any of your business," she repeated, "but Sirius and I are just friends, Potter. He needs a friend, since you've all turned your backs on him."

James rolled his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. "He used Remus!" James yelled, then quickly looked around and lowered his voice to a cutting whisper. "He used Remus to scare Snape, but he wasn't just trying to scare him, can't you see that? I know Sirius, and I know when he's lying, and he wasn't just trying to scare him. He was trying to hurt him, and he was using Remus to do it for him. How are we supposed to forgive that, Lily? How?"

"Because he's your friend, and your brother, and friends love each other, even when they make mistakes, even big mistakes."

"Some things can't be forgiven," James told her before turning and walking away. He didn't glance back, but he knew she was back there, watching him go.

* * *

In spite of Pomfrey's strict orders, James climbed onto his broom and rocketed into the air. The Pitch was deserted as most people were getting ready for dinner, and thus James flew laps between goalposts, trying to fly faster with each lap.

Finally, by the time the sun sank at the edge of the horizon, James had burned off a good portion of his anger. He was just getting ready to land when a flicker of movement drew his attention to the front gates. For just a moment, he'd spotted someone, and then they were gone again.

Suddenly remembering the unexplainable people on the Marauder's Map, James landed and dug his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. Wrapping himself in it, he quickly took to the sky again, and headed directly for the main gate. When he arrived, he hovered, searching for some sign of the intruder. Then he heard a faint cough. James cursed; Remus had the map this week, which meant that James had no way of knowing who was beneath him, short of landing and introducing himself.

Fortunately, as he circled in frustration, he spotted a figure approaching from the castle, indistinguishable in the coming dusk. As the figure grew closer, James recognized Professor Blinkerton.

"Fabian," he said, looking around casually.

Out of thin air, it seemed, a man materialized in the shadow of the gate. "Here, Barnabus," he said quietly.

"Albus has received intelligence that there may be an assault on a nearby Muggle village tonight as an attempt to draw us out."

Fabian's cheerful face fell. "So we're to sit here and do nothing?" he said in disbelief.

"Our duty is to protect the castle and its students," Blinkerton said, though he, too, sounded annoyed to not be able to help.

"To spy on them, more like," Fabian said, sighing.

"To ensure those in danger of making the wrong choice don't go over," Blinkerton corrected.

"How many, d'you think?" Fabian asked, his face still hidden in the shadows.

Blinkerton leaned against the gates, his head down. "Avery, Snape and the younger Black is all we know right now. Looks like the older Black brother might be in a spot of trouble, but I don't think it'll drive him to the Dark side."

James's eyes widened in alarm. Sirius would never… would he? Suddenly James didn't know. But he did know he didn't want that for Sirius, no matter how mad at him he was.

_You were all he had left. You and Remus and Peter. If he thinks he's lost you, maybe he'll try to go back to his family and become a proper Black,_ the little voice in James's head whispered insistently.

James shook his head. Sirius wasn't that stupid... Was he?

"We're to be on guard of attack within the castle, as well," Blinkerton was saying to Fabian. James could no longer see them in the deepening dark. "Meadows and McKinnon are on the lookout for anything unusual in the castle tonight, but they can only be so many places at once. Voldemort's recruits are looking for new members, and they're apparently not to take no for an answer."

James wheeled his broom around and headed for the castle. He needed to find Sirius, and he needed to find him fast.

* * *

Sirius sat in the library, an open book sitting unread on the table in front of him. After another dinner by himself (Lily was conspicuously absent from the evening meal), Sirius had decided he wasn't up to another evening in Myrtle's company, so he headed to the library, thinking perhaps he might be able to get a little revision done while he was alone and miserable.

When the chair across from him pulled back, he looked up, expecting to see Lily, but hoping to see James or Remus, or Peter.

Instead, his brother sat across from him, looking very sure of himself.

"Where're all your friends?" Regulus asked, staring at him with a cocked brow. "Did they finally wise up?"

"They're… not here," Sirius muttered, looking down at his book again.

"Finally caught on that you're a Black, did they?"

"I'm not a Black anymore, didn't Mother tell you?" Sirius glanced up again.

"Maybe not in name," Regulus said thoughtfully. "But you still think like a Black, and act like a Black."

"No, I don't," Sirius denied.

"Yes, you do," Regulus argued. "I don't know what you did to Snape, but all he'll say is that you were positively Slytherin."

Sirius felt himself flush. "I'm a Gryffindor," he stated proudly.

Regulus didn't respond to that. He sat back in his chair for a moment, studying Sirius with uncomfortable intensity.

"I've been watching you the last few days," Regulus said at last.

"Have you, now," Sirius stated, looking back at his unread book.

"You and your little Gryffindor friends seem to have parted ways."

Sirius didn't respond, but his hand clenched on the table between them. He quickly hid it beneath the table.

"You don't need them, anyway, Sirius," Regulus said earnestly.

The tone of Regulus's voice caught Sirius's attention. His brother smiled at him. "You can come home again. We can be brothers again," he said winningly.

Sirius looked at him, skeptical. "How do you figure?" he questioned, growing suspicious. He glanced around, suddenly sure he was about to be ambushed.

"Voldemort, Sirius," Regulus said with a smile.


	31. Chapter Thirty One

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus and Tiffany were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One **

James raced into the common room, completely out of breath. He'd searched Myrtle's bathroom on the way up, hoping he might find Sirius there, but his friend was nowhere to be found. James skidded to a halt and whipped his head around, scanning the crowd in the common room. None of his friends were present.

He rushed up to the dorm room, thinking perhaps Remus would be up there, trying to study away from the chaos of the common room, but the dorm was empty. James flung himself at Remus's trunk, flipping it open and searching beneath the pile of dirty socks were Remus hid all of his important treasures, but the Marauder's Map was not there.

Gasping for air, he thundered back down the stairs and rushed through the portrait hole again, knocking Lily over as she attempted to come through. With a shriek, she fell backwards, books and parchment flying. James stopped short, yanking her to her feet.

"Lily, have you seen Sirius?" he asked breathlessly.

She jerked her hand back in alarm, stumbling a bit. "You're not going to duel him, are you?" she asked warily.

"No!" James practically shouted, wondering where on earth she'd gotten that idea from. "I think he's in danger!"

"Danger?" Lily asked, looking alert. "Why do you think that?"

"I just heard Professor Blinkerton talking to someone named Fabian Prewett at the front gate, talking about how Voldemort was planning an attack tonight on a nearby village in an attempt to leave the castle unprotected, and then Fabian asked Blinkerton something like, 'How many do you figure?' and Professor Blinkerton listed off Snape, Avery and Regulus, and said that Sirius might be in danger of going to the Dark side – "

"James! Slow down!" Lily commanded, grabbing his chin and looking him in the eyes. "Say it again, slower."

So James repeated everything he could recall, helping Lily gather her supplies as he did so. She deposited her bag just inside the portrait hole and then she turned, looking resolutely at James.

"Let's go find him," she said.

"We need to find Remus, too," James said as he and Lily hurried through the corridors, searching in vain for anyone who might have seen Sirius.

"Right," Lily said, glancing over at him.

"Listen, Lily," James started, leading the way toward the kitchen on the chance that Sirius was there having a snack. "I'm… er… sorry about before."

"Oh," Lily said quietly. "Alright."

"It's just, I saw you coming out of the bathroom with Sirius, and… er…" He trailed off, trying not to make an ass of himself. But before he could stop it, he asked, "Were you in the bathroom the whole night with Sirius?"

Lily shot him a look that made him feel like a rather large moron. "No," she said. "I went in this morning. I wanted to see if you had talked to him like I'd told you to. Apparently not."

"Well, I went to find him this morning, but when I did find him, I saw him holding your hand!" cried James.

"And what's wrong with having Sirius hold my hand?" asked Lily, her green eyes looking into James's brown ones.

"I - I don't know," he muttered despairingly.

"Listen." She put her hand on his arm, making him pause a moment to look at her again. "There isn't anything going on between the two of us. We're just really good friends. Like with me and Remus or you and me. Sirius was upset that all of you were fighting with him, and so I comforted him. You have to understand, Snape makes people so angry sometimes, that they do things that they never imagined doing," reasoned Lily.

"But to not even think about Remus?" asked James in disbelief as they came to a stop in front of the entrance to the kitchens.

"You and I both know that Sirius cares about his friends more than anything else in the world. If he had thought twice about what he was going to do, you know he'd have reconsidered. You have to put yourself in his shoes."

Before James could respond, a silky drawl came from the left of them.

"Well, if it isn't the Mudblood, and the idiot."

James snapped his head to the left and saw Snape standing there, smirking at them.

"What do you want? Isn't it enough that I already saved you?"

"Saved me? Oh yes, from that werewolf. But I didn't ask you to save me," he said, his beady eyes growing dark.

"You would have died if it wasn't for me, and you know it. Why don't you just leave us alone. Nobody wants to be around you anyway," James said, remembering what Blinkerton had said. If he was right, Snape had already gone to Voldemort.

"Except Regulus," murmured Snape.

James, who had already begun hurrying away with Lily, stopped, thinking back to Sirius's frantic face when he realized that Voldemort was recruiting in Hogwarts. If Snape had gone over, that meant Blinkerton was right about Regulus, too. Regulus already belonged to Voldemort, as well.

"What did you say?" James asked.

"You heard me, Potter," spat Snape.

"Stay away from him, or I'll have you killed," said James, his hand reaching for his wand. Lily grabbed his arm to stop him.

Snape stiffened, but his eyes grew cold. "We'll see," he snapped, and with that, he slipped away.

James fumed silently to himself as he and Lily searched the kitchens unsuccessfully.

"That idiot! That git, how dare he!" James muttered, conceding defeat that Sirius was not hiding somewhere in the kitchens.

"Now, can you still blame Sirius?" asked Lily, looking frustrated, concerned, and hopeful, all in one.

"What do you mean?" James followed her back into the hallway, pausing as he thought about where else Sirius might be.

Lily rolled her eyes, and said, "Look at what Snape just said to you. And look at your reaction. Imagine that you were Sirius and Snape was talking about your brother. What would you have done?" she asked.

James froze and turned to regard Lily. She was right.

James sighed. It was time to make up with Sirius...

* * *

They found Peter first, coming out of the Hufflepuff common room with a smile on his face. Any other time, James might have taken the mickey, but given the dire situation, he ignored the self-satisfied smirk on Peter's face and quickly filled him in on the situation.

Peter remembered that Remus had been meeting with his friends in Ravenclaw to revise for the upcoming Astronomy exam, and they were going to be on the Astronomy Tower, so together, the three of them raced back up the stairs.

They met Remus halfway up the staircase. He was in deep conversation with Maddie, the girl who had been his date to the Solstice Ball, and neither of them noticed the trio thundering up the stairs toward them.

"Moony," James panted, out of breath.

Remus looked startled, then alarmed.

"Hi, guys!" Maddie greeted them warmly. Her smile fell from her face. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry, Maddie," Lily said. "We've got to steal Remus from you. It's a bit of an emergency."

"Oh," Maddie said, looking concerned. "Alright, then."

"Bye!" Remus called over his shoulder as the trio dragged him back down the stairs. Then he turned to the others. "What's happened?" he asked, his voice filled with dread. "Did Snape tell?"

"No, Moony," James said. "Where's the map?"

"The map?" Remus asked, looking incensed. "You pulled me away from Maddie for the bloody map?"

"Where's the map?" James demanded again.

"Sirius is in trouble!" Lily said, talking over James loudly.

Wordlessly, Remus swung his bag off his shoulder and dropped to one knee. He yanked the parchment out of the front compartment, and glanced at James, then Lily.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said, tapping the map with his wand.

The map came to life, and Lily's eyes grew wide with awe. "This is amazing!" she gasped. "Priceless! Where did you find this?"

"We made it," Remus murmured, folding open the map.

"_Made it?_" Lily echoed, looking at them with new respect in her eyes.

James didn't respond. He was scouring the map for any sign of Sirius.

"There!" Peter said, making them all jump. He pointed at the map. "He's in the library."

James sighed in relief, and leaned back against the nearest wall.

Lily grabbed his arm and gave him a forceful yank. "We have to go!" she said urgently.

"What? Why? He's safe!" James gasped, following Lily.

"Look again!"

So James did, as best he could while Lily was pulling him along at a run. Then he understood. Sirius was talking to Regulus, and a group of six Slytherins lurked just behind a stack of books, for purposes James didn't want to imagine.

Breaking out into a sprint, he took off for the library, Lily, Remus and Peter just behind.


	32. Chapter Thirty Two

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus and Yellowolf were the authors.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

"Voldemort?" Sirius repeated, feeling his stomach churning. "Reg, please tell me you didn't – "

Regulus drew himself up proudly. "It's amazing, Sirius. He gets it, he understands. He wants to make the world a better place!"

Sirius closed his eyes for a long moment, taking a deep breath. He'd lost his brother, all over again. "He's a Dark wizard, Reg, killing people because of their blood."

Regulus blinked, looking confused. "No, no… he's just making sure that people with proper blood aren't overrun by mudbloods. There are only so many of us with proper blood left, you know."

Sirius shook his head and stood abruptly, his chair falling over backwards. Students around them looked up, startled.

"There is nothing wrong with people who aren't pureblooded, Reg. Magic is magic, no matter what kind of blood you've got."

Regulus looked disappointed. "But Sirius, Mother will take you back! You can come home again."

"You don't care about that, Reg," Sirius retorted. "Or me. If you did, you wouldn't have treated me like I was an embarrassment to you for the last four years."

Regulus started to retort, but Sirius turned quickly and headed for the exit to the library, not wanting to spend another minute with the brother he had lost to the Dark side. Nearly blinded by the tears which were building in his eyes, he barreled through the door, directly into a group of people.

"Sirius!" Lily gasped, relief written all over her face. "Are you alright?"

Sirius blinked. As two tears trickled down his face, he noticed James, Remus and Peter all crowded around him, as well.

"I'm fine," he said shortly.

Remus peered around him into the library, and then he and Peter quickly grabbed his arms and yanked him down the hall. James and Lily stayed behind. As his friends pulled him into an alcove, he pulled his arms away, startled.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, rubbing his arms.

"Protecting you," Remus answered, turning to look back into the corridor.

"Protecting me?" Sirius echoed, still confused. "After what I did…?"

Meanwhile, James and Lily continued to stand just outside the library, their hands on their wands.

As James watched Regulus, and six other Slytherins, coming toward the library exit, he turned to flash a smile at Lily. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?" James asked honestly.

Lily blushed crimson. "Thanks," she mumbled, biting her lip. In spite of the impending situation, she appreciated the compliment. She'd started to quite like James, even if he was annoying sometimes.

* * *

Back in the alcove, Sirius was doing his best to get Peter and Remus to forgive him, but he realized that it was Remus he would need to convince since Peter wasn't really involved and would follow whatever Remus did anyway.

"Remus, you have no idea how sorry I am. I just didn't think. I figured that you wouldn't remember. I know that it was wrong," he added quickly as he saw Remus was about to angrily retort. "I was just trying to protect my brother." _Fat lot of good it did, though_, he thought to himself.

"Okay, Sirius, let's for a second assume I'm not angry with you." Remus started, sounding remarkably calm, "You would've willingly let Snape walk to his own death! What does that tell about you? It makes you no better than him, it actually makes you even worse."

Sirius flinched and looked at the ground. Remus was right. It made him downright look like a Slytherin, like Regulus had said, something he so desperately fought not to be. It actually made him worse than a Slytherin because he hadn't known any of them to do something as bad as this. Would he have been able to live with himself if Snape had gotten seriously injured or perhaps even died? Most likely not.

And it hadn't saved his brother from Snape or Voldemort. Nothing he could have done would have stopped that. And at the end of the day, it was his brother's choice to join just as it was his choice to not join, and he doubted he would ever be able to change Regulus's mind.

"You're right," he said quietly, feeling miserable.

* * *

James pulled Lily to the side of the library doors just before Regulus and the other Slytherins rushed through. He knew they were hideously outnumbered, but he had to defend Sirius, to protect his friend, and he was glad that Lily was by his side to help him out. He loved being with her, even during what was likely to be a messy and painful duel. She didn't look the least bit scared.

A second later, Regulus was in front of them, slightly out of breath and looking angry.

"Where's Sirius?" he asked, threateningly.

"How should I know?" James retorted, eyeing the gang of Slytherins that slowly spread out, surrounding him and Lily. She looked at them contemptuously, not looking at all intimidated. James was impressed.

"You're his best mate, aren't you?" Regulus demanded. "Or, did you wise up?"

"Yeah, I'm his best mate, but that doesn't mean I know where he is every second of the day!" James said loudly, feeling himself growing angry on Sirius's behalf.

"Oh, and I'm supposed to believe that?" Regulus yelled. "He just came this way. You must have seen him!" His voice echoed through the corridor, and James knew that Remus, Peter and Sirius would no doubt be able to hear it too. He just prayed they were sensible enough to stay where they were.

"I guess I just missed him!" James shouted back.

"Tell me where he us, or I swear to Merlin that I will curse you!" Regulus snarled.

"Oh, I would just love to see you try!" James shot back, reaching for his wand at the same time that Regulus reached for his.

The ricochet of the first spell bounced off a shield James hadn't realized Lily had even put up. He was impressed anew.

Sirius jerked his head up at the sound of spellfire, quite horrified. Remus and Peter turned to stare down the corridor. Sirius rushed forward, but he was stopped abruptly by Remus.

"Stay here," he said firmly.

"But -"

"No, let Prongs and Lily handle it," Remus interrupted.

Peter nodded. "They'll know what to do. I don't think you should go up against your brother now."

"And let Prongs get injured again because of me? Yeah, I didn't think so!" Sirius retorted determinedly. He brushed by Remus and Peter, reaching for his wand in the process.

"Padfoot, stop!" Remus hissed, and for just a moment, Sirius paused, so glad to hear Remus use his nickname. Then another spell bounced away from James and Lily. They were surrounded by seven Slytherins, and were seriously outnumbered. Sirius charged forward with Remus and Peter on his heels.

Regulus saw his approach and held up his hand to stop the others mid-hex. Sirius took a breath of relief. Five Gryffindors against eight Slytherins was quite guaranteed to go badly. Slytherins weren't known for their fair dueling.

"I tried to be fair, before," Regulus told him. "I was trying to go easy on you."

"How kind," Sirius answered sarcastically. He met James's eyes and nodded slightly. James gave him a small smile.

"If you agree to join with Voldemort, we won't kill your little friends, here," Regulus sneered.

Sirius closed his mouth abruptly, knowing he needed to choose his next words wisely. He wouldn't put anything past a group of Slytherins, especially a group of Slytherins who had aligned themselves with a Dark wizard bent on blood purity. Any answer he gave would most likely make things worse. He was surprised when James answered.

"I think you're overestimating yourself there, Black," he said, laughing. "Even if there are more of you than us, we could duel circles around you."

Regulus narrowed his eyes and glared at James, who met his challenging stare without flinching. "I wouldn't be so smug about this if I were you, Potter. We've learned all sorts of new tricks. Have you heard of the Unforgivables?"

"Don't even think about it!" Sirius yelled, shaking with anger.

"If you join me – join us – we'll let them live," Regulus snarled, a victorious smirk on his face. "Otherwise, what do you think you're going to do about it to stop us? Like your little friend here said, you're outnumbered, and we know Dark magic. What do you know?"

"See, what I know," James started, "is that I'm not going to let you bully Sirius into joining up with that deranged madman, and I really don't think you're going to be able to duel your way out of a paper bag." He flourished his wand slightly. "So you'd best back off."

James looked about ready to fire off the first spell that came to mind. "James, don't do anything," Remus warned.

"_Serpensortia_!" Regulus shouted, and a big snake appeared out of thin air and coiled itself at Lily's feet. She gave a small shriek of alarm and jumped back. James took a stance before her and kept his wand pointed at the snake which was preparing to strike.

"Someone do something!" James said. Lily sighed deeply and stepped out from behind him. She pointed her wand at the snake and muttered a spell. The snake disappeared. The Slytherins all stared, shocked.

"Well, well, the mudblood has a few tricks up her sleeve," Regulus sneered.

"Don't call her that!" Sirius yelled. All magic forgotten, Sirius threw himself at his brother, knocking him to the ground.

"Sirius!" James, Remus, Peter and Lily yelled together, but the brothers were firmly entangled, rolling over and over on the ground, aiming punches at each other and trying to reach whatever flesh they could. The Slytherins watched hungrily, taking their eyes off their prisoners.

James quickly tried to aim his wand at Regulus, but the brothers were moving too quickly for him to be sure he wasn't going to hit Sirius instead.

Regulus rolled over on top of Sirius and pinned him to the ground. He wrapped his fingers around his older brother's throat, and snarled between clenched teeth, "You're going to choose a mudblood and a bunch of Muggle lovers over your own blood?"

"Just like you chose your Slytherin mates over your own blood?" Sirius snarled. He smashed his fist into his brother's jaw and kicking out from underneath the younger boy. They rolled across the floor and Lily had to jump out of the way.

"James, do something!" she yelped.

"I'm trying!" James shouted, squinting his eyes and taking careful aim.

Regulus recovered from the punch and jammed his palm up into Sirius's nose. Sirius cried out and loosened his grip on his brother. The brothers rolled back towards James and Remus. Remus dodged forward in an attempt to pull the two apart, but was yanked back by a burly seventh year Slytherin who took a swing at him. Remus ducked and landed a solid kick to the Slytherin's stomach. The seventh year collapsed to the ground, wheezing. But the other Slytherins awoke at last, and the fight was on.

Lily spun away as the lone girl in the Slytherin bunch shot a spell towards her, and ducked behind a statue just as another random curse sped her way. James started over to help her.

"No, help Sirius!" she shouted, waving him away.

Gritting his teeth, James nodded and returned his attention to the brawling pair on the floor. He took aim and readied to shoot a spell. Then Peter, trading punches with a fourth year Slytherin, bumped into him. James swore out loud, dodging to the side as a spell shot his way. The curse slammed into the wall over his head and sent brick flying everywhere. James looked up in alarm, and cast a shield just as another curse headed his way.

Blood streaming from his nose, Sirius butted heads with his brother, and Regulus howled in pain. Blood began to flow from the younger brother's nose as well. Sirius reached up, grabbing Regulus's hand as it went to his face.

"Just blood!" he croaked, making his brother look at his bloody hand. "Just like mine, or Lily's, or Voldemort's."

"Ours is pure, always pure," Regulus gritted out, yanking his hand out of Sirius's grasp. He wrapped both of his hands around Sirius's neck. "Why won't you join?" he said in a low voice to Sirius. "We can be together again, like we were when we were kids! Don't choose them over us!"

In the heat of the moment, Sirius almost missed the pleading tone in his younger brother's voice. But then it hit him: Regulus truly didn't understand.

"I would choose you, too, if you weren't joining ranks with a supremacist madman. You're my brother! All I've ever wanted is for us to be real brothers," Sirius choked out. Regulus's expression turned from one of cold anger to one of resignation. His grip loosened. Sirius took a deep breath. "Please, Reg, don't join up with him. He's nothing but trouble."

"I'll do what I want, Sirius," Regulus answered. "Just like you always did."

Sirius nodded regretfully.

Having fended off his attacker, James took that opportunity to rush forward. He threw Regulus away from Sirius and yanked his friend to his feet. He examined him quickly, noting that Sirius's lip was bleeding, as was his nose. And his left eye was already starting to look black.

"We're going," James said clearly. The Slytherins, clearly not ready to concede to that, pointed their wands threateningly.

"_Accio _Slytherin wands!" Lily shouted, holding out her hand to catch seven wands. The Slytherins angrily started forward.

"I wouldn't," Remus snarled, raising his wand and pointing it at them. They halted, eying him warily.

Taking that as their cue, the Marauders and Lily rushed away, Remus and Peter holding their wands pointed at the Slytherins until they had turned a corner. None of the Slytherins followed, luckily.

James held onto Sirius tightly out of fear that the other boy might fall over. Sirius didn't look angry; he looked strangely defeated.

"I lost my brother," he said hollowly. Regulus had chosen his path. Sirius didn't agree with it, and he knew he never would.

"But you still have us," James said, startling Sirius.

"Really?"

"Yeah, mate," James said, grinning. "Really."


	33. Chapter Thirty Three

**Author's Notes: **This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.

While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.

Finally, reviews are love.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Three**

Lily insisted that Sirius go to the hospital wing, and since James and the rest also had a few battle wounds, they went along as well. Besides that, none of them really wanted Sirius to be alone just then, anyway. Madam Pomfrey was quite startled when they all showed up, but once she was assured that it was Sirius that needed the most help, she quickly got down to business, pressing a cotton ball up his nose and applying a potion to his eye to ensure that there was no permanent damage.

James seated himself next to Sirius's bed, and Lily took a seat on the empty bed one over. Remus sat down next to her and Peter paced aimlessly, looking fretful. Sirius just stared at all of them, a look of surprise, hope, and gratitude on his face.

That is, until Professor McGonagall stormed into the hospital wing, looking thunderous. She spotted the lot of them sitting together and she drew up short, fury written all over her face.

"Am I to understand correctly that you've once again engaged in an illegal duel within the walls of this castle, Mr. Black?" she asked in a clipped voice. She took another look at the assembled group. "And not only did you enlist your usual group of miscreants to help, but you also managed to employ Miss Evans in your scheme?"

Sirius said nothing to defend himself, so James started to protest on his behalf. "Professor," he began.

McGonagall whirled, her robes flaring out around her. "I believe you are in enough trouble without coming to Mr. Black's defense, Mr. Potter. I am told you instigated the fight."

James blinked, shocked.

"Professor," Lily said, rising from her seat. "That isn't what happened, at all."

"Miss Evans," the professor snapped, a vein in her forehead throbbing. "Are you not in the possession of seven Slytherin wands?"

At that, James had to stifle a laugh. The Slytherins that had attacked them had ratted them out. Such sore losers, James thought.

"I am, Professor, but I took them to keep them from hexing us any more," Lily explained, reaching into the pocket of her robes and producing the wands, which she handed to McGonagall. "We didn't cast a single offensive spell," Lily continued. "But if you test these wands, you will see that they fired several curses at us, including Serpensortia."

McGonagall looked minimally pacified. She gestured to Sirius. "But you've all clearly been fighting," she argued. "Mr. Black is covered in blood."

"I fought with my brother," Sirius explained quietly. "He wanted me to join him and his friends and – " Sirius stopped himself suddenly, and James knew Sirius had been about to say Voldemort. " – and I didn't want to," Sirius finished, looking up proudly. "I told him no."

McGonagall's demeanor instantly changed. Her fierce glare grew softer and her hands unclenched as she met Sirius's eyes.

Sirius spotted this, and hurried on. "Everyone else there: James, Remus, Lily and Peter; they were there to defend me."

"Because we didn't want to join, either," James added, standing to put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You told him no?" McGonagall echoed softly.

Sirius nodded.

Then McGonagall did something James had not been expecting: she swooped down on Sirius and pulled him into a fierce hug. Sirius looked shocked, which reflected what James felt. He was even more shocked when McGonagall pulled away, a large smile lighting her stern face.

"You're a good boy, Sirius. A bit high-spirited, but a good boy," she laughed, patting him on the back.

Sirius looked frankly amazed by this turn of events, and he turned to gaze in wonderment at James. As clearly as if he'd said it out loud, James knew what he was thinking. They'd finally succeeded in making McGonagall laugh.

* * *

As they walked back to the common room, Sirius lagged slightly behind. James slowed as well, letting Remus, Peter and Lily go on ahead. 

Sirius glanced over at James, an unreadable expression on his face. "James," he began.

"Prongs," James supplied.

"Prongs," Sirius repeated after a moment. He took a deep breath and then paused. James waited patiently as Sirius seemed to struggle with his words.

"I was trying to protect one brother," he said quietly, "but at the same time, I was endangering another."

"You were," James agreed.

"I wasn't thinking beyond making sure Snape stayed away from Reg," Sirius admitted regretfully. "And it was all for nothing anyway because Reg went ahead and joined up with Voldemort anyway. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself for what I did, so I guess it's sorta stupid of me to expect you to forgive me."

James clapped Sirius on the back. "But I've already forgiven you," James told him. Sirius jerked his head up, his face hopeful.

"But, why?" he asked, coming to a halt.

James rubbed his forehead sheepishly. "Because you're my friend, and like you said, my brother, and… I love you, and you forgive the people you love." He took a deep breath as Sirius looked down, his face flushing. James soldiered on bravely. "And when I realized you were in danger, being mad at you didn't make sense anymore."

Sirius looked up at James again, his eyes alight with gratitude. James began to walk again, and Sirius started forward as well, a definite spring in his step.

"So, we totally kicked those Slytherins' asses," Sirius said. "Did you see me kicking ass?"

"You did kick ass," James agreed.

"Too bad Snape wasn't there; I would have enjoyed kicking his ass."

"Me too," James agreed, smirking at the thought of Sirius punching Snape in his long, hooked nose.

"Maybe next time," Sirius mused, rubbing his own nose carefully. He paused for a minute, poking James in the side. "Lily is pretty scary with a wand, isn't she?"

"Yeah," James grinned, thinking of the swirl of red hair framing Lily's face, the flare of fight in her green eyes as she spun and shot defensive spells at the attacking Slytherins. "Yeah, she is."

The girl in question paused ahead of them, and turned on her heel, hands on her hips. "Are you two done making up yet?" she called down the corridor. "Because we're tired of pretending not to listen!"

James laughed out loud, nudging Sirius. "Good hearing, that one."

"Well come on, already!" she called, rolling her eyes and tapping her foot impatiently. James and Sirius glanced at each other, smiling wickedly, and picked up the pace. As they neared her, she took a step back, a wary expression on her face.

"Whatever you two are planning," she began, "don't – "

"NOW!" James called, and he and Sirius darted forward.

Lily let out a shriek and began to scamper away, but James caught her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. As he held her, kicking and squirming, against him, Sirius began to tickle her.

Laughing in protest, she breathlessly asked, "What happened to me being scary with a wand?"

"Can't reach it now, can you?" Sirius asked, jumping back as Lily halfheartedly kicked at him.

"Put me down, James!" she begged between helpless fits of laughter.

Instead, James passed her to Sirius, who slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"That's certainly no way to treat a lady," a voice said from the shadows. Professor Blinkerton stepped forward, smiling warmly. "Especially one so talented as Miss Evans."

Sirius obligingly set Lily on her feet, and still laughing, she cuffed him lightly on the shoulder.

"Ouch!" he complained, rubbing it in exaggerated pain.

"It's nearly curfew," Blinkerton announced, glancing at his pocket watch languidly. "Perhaps you should be heading to your dormitories?"

"We were just heading there now, Professor," Lily said, straightening her robes.

"Ah, excellent," he said. "Don't let me stop you." He inclined his head, but waited until they started to walk again before he went on his way. James waited for Sirius, who hung back a moment, and he caught the odd smile that his friend shared with the Defense professor.

"What was that about?" James asked, hurrying to catch up with Lily and the rest.

"Nothing important, really," Sirius answered.

* * *

Later that night as they made ready for bed, James asked to borrow the map from Remus again. Obligingly, Remus passed him the map and leaned over his shoulder. "Looks like the Slytherins who attacked us are still in Dumbledore's office," he said, smiling wryly. 

"That'll teach them," Peter said, coming to stand next to James.

Sirius paused from his bedtime routine and came to stand over James's other shoulder. "No, it won't," he said with a bitter laugh.

Together, the four of them examined the map, each looking in different areas. Sirius continued to watch the Headmaster's office while Remus's eyes wandered to the Astronomy Tower, and Peter looked to the Hufflepuff dorms. James briefly skimmed the castle, finding Blinkerton motionless, staring out a window onto the moonless grounds. He spied the Prewett brothers patrolling the grounds outside, and Dorcas Meadows and Marlene McKinnon on different floors of the castle, moving about slowly.

He saw professors and prefects doing their nightly rounds, and Filch in the second floor girls' bathroom, searching the stalls. Madam Pomfrey was cleaning up the hospital wing, and Severus Snape sat by himself in the Slytherin common room.

His eyes drifted back to Gryffindor Tower, and he saw his housemates readying for bed. For a moment, he watched the small figure that represented Lily Evans as she climbed the stairs to her dormitory. He smiled to himself as she entered her dorm, and then he looked away.

With a happy sigh, he turned his head to examine all of his friends, the three boys that were like brothers to him.

Sirius felt his scrutiny and lifted his head, grinning. "Thinking about going out and causing a little trouble?" Sirius asked.

"Nah," James said at last, turning his attention back to the map, "I think that's enough trouble for one night."

"A grand adventure, indeed," Remus agreed. "One worthy of the books."

"But this adventurer needs sleep," Peter yawned, stretching his arms over his head and turning away.

James took one last glance at the members of the Order of the Phoenix who were guarding them carefully, and then he raised his wand to the map. They were safe, for tonight, at least. He glanced once more at Remus and Sirius, and smiling, he said, "Mischief Managed."

_fin_

**

* * *

Author's Notes:**

On behalf of all of the authors: Yellowwolf, Tiffany, Jacquelyn Black, xmaraudersxforeverx, Princeofalmora, Falconswing, Beckie Malfoy and Rainangel03; I would like to say thank you for following our story and leaving such positive reviews! We really enjoyed writing this story, and we would love to go on, but the deadline for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor looms.

If you're interested in checking out the forum that posted the challenge, check out the site Third Floor Corridor on proboards.

Meanwhile, leave us one last review telling us what you think, and if you want a sequel, feel free to ask for one.

Pennilyn Novus


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